Brain drain

By Wired Tuesday, 08 May 2007

The software engineer behind the creation of the Palm and Treo handheld phones claims to be on the verge of creating a brand new software product that will have the same predictive learning capacity as the human brain.

Further Reading

Jeff Hawkins' discovery, known as the hierarchical temporal memory (HTM), is based on his realisation that the human brain starts learning from a low base, in which it knows very little.

By drawing on information from what it senses, it builds a model of the world from which it can make predictions. Hawkins intends to license the software made up of multiple, parallel layers of nodes representing thousands of neurons, which can process information, recall patterns and make predictions.

He expects an industry to emerge in which companies will find new ways to use the technology.

The auto industry has already shown interest, believing it may be able to use the software to warn a driver when they are veering off the road or falling asleep at the wheel.

The thinking machine
Evan Ratliff
Wired, March 2007

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