According to New Scientist, an Australian team has been growing these small puddles of the brain, and one of them has now learned to play Pong in record time. Cortical Lab is a firm that is working on combining biological neurons with typical silicon-based computing gear.
They activate brain cells by growing them on microelectronic arrays. These hybrid chips are supposed to be able to learn and reconstruct themselves to overcome obstacles, such as blocking a stealthy ball from sneaking into your goal.
According to Cortical Labs, AIs generally take 90 minutes to learn Pong, but this ‘DishBrain’ (yep, that’s its name) only took five minutes. However, once both are adequately taught, a good AI will utterly obliterate the cells, according to the researchers.
The team accomplished this by sending electrical impulses to the DishBrain to communicate where the ball is in the game. The paddles may then be moved by the neurons to collide with the ball, which is crazy. I’m quite sure I figured out Pong faster, and without the help of an entire team of scientists, just saying.
Chief scientific officer of Cortical Labs, Brett Kagan told New Scientist “We think it’s fair to call them cyborg’s brains,” and went on to explain that when the brains are moving the paddles in Pong, they’re convinced that they’re the paddles. “We often refer to them as living in the Matrix.” he explains “When they are in the game, they believe they are the paddle.”
Even as it is, AIs are already a little insane. Quality aside, they can turn words into photorealistic images, create Grand Theft Auto, and code just about anything. Tod Howard, the CEO of Bethesda Softworks, wants better AI in games, and the United Nations is calling for regulation of potentially dangerous AIs. I’m looking forward to seeing what horrifying concoctions DishBrains can concoct in their quest for terrifying sentience.
also read:
Tencent grows even strong after acquiring Slamfire and Turtle Rock Studios
