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The Future of Artificial Intelligence

Posted by William On August - 27 - 2009

It's quite possible that the future of artificial intelligence is here. And if it is, as some in the know are coming to believe, then it is called HTM, or Hierarchical Temporal Memory.

The Future of Artificial Intelligence

The Future of Artificial Intelligence

HTM is a machine learning model developed by Jeff Hawkins and Dileep George of Numenta, Inc. Jeff Hawkins is an engineer, entrepreneur, and author of the 2004 published book about A.I. titled On Intelligence 0.

Dileep George is a former electrical engineering graduate student who was working part-time at the Redwood Neuro-Science Institute, a small think tank founded by Hawkins in 2002 (it's now part of UC Berkeley). At the same time he was working at the Institute he was looking for a PhD topic about the brain and decided he wanted to team up with Hawkins.

The possible future of artificial intelligence is based on a key insight that Hawkins had in the classic "Eureka" moment back in his UC Berkeley PhD study days. As he pondered the question of how he would react if a blue coffee cup were to quite suddenly materialize on his desk it came to him.

Hawkins' insight may hold the key to the future of artificial intelligence development: that all former A.I. models and theories eventually crumbled or came up against impassable walls because they did not grasp the core fact that the human brain's capacity is centrally based on predicting the future; both the immediate future and the far-flung future.

"...all former A.I. models and theories eventually crumbled.... because they did not grasp the core fact that the human brain's capacity is centrally based on predicting the future"

Hawkins is completely fascinated by the concept that "when you are born, you know nothing," and he and George have begun creating and expanding a software platform that transfers this principle to artificial intelligence design: when it's "born", it knows nothing. But, like human brains, this A.I. will have "instincts"--the human-programmed protocols for learning.

HTM is the likely future of artificial intelligence because with this platform, an A.I. must create memories from sensory input, learn from experience, and then use those remembered and processed experiences to make predictions about the future.

This goes right down to the basics of recognizing what an object is from only obscured, partial, or distorted sensory data--something that human beings take doing for granted--but which the world's chess champion computer program would hopelessly fail at.

Just as a little tiny infant begins doing instinctively from the second it emerges from the womb, such an A.I. grows itself--it starts from knowing nothing and learns from having and then assimilating experiences.

Future of Artificial Intelligence

Future of Artificial Intelligence

HTM programming rests on the core concept of hierachical knowing. This practical insight comes from the observation that the human brain's neocortex--the top layer of our three layers of gray matter--makes up at least 60% of the human brain by itself.

Almost all higher level insights and calculations, such as Hawkins' own revelation about the basic structure of human intelligence, are made within the neocortex. Fun Fact: Humans is the largest neocortex, and takes up the highest percentage, of that of any mammal on earth... by far.

The future of artificial intelligence will be built upon something out of the ancient past: the pyramid. This means that A.I. "neurons" are arranged hierarchically, which Hawkins, backed up by a great deal of neurological research, presumes to be the situation with human brains. Lower-level neurons are like those which receive the basic sensory input from, say, a musical instrument.

These tones are first picked up by the ear, then interpreted by those lower-level neurons, which process information about them and then kick them up to mid-level neurons. The mid-level neurons then follow suit but with higher processing, and then kick them up to the top.

Then the top makes the ultimate processing and then translates signals about those stimulations back down to the low-level neurons, "teaching" them like a "more experienced" guide or mentor. Just as there are fewer geniuses than average-intelligence human beings, so there are fewer higher-level neurons than mid-level or lower-level neurons. The future of artificial intelligence is hierachical in structure, just like human brains, just like human society.

"The future of artificial intelligence is hierachical in structure, just like human brains, just like human society."

It was George, over the course of several weekends, who constructed the original basic, elemental A.I. model of the process used in the human visual cortex. The usual modeling of a program is linear; it processes data and makes calculations in just one direction.

George then created multiple, parallel layers of nodes, with each node embodying thousands of neurons in cortical columns and each in and of itself a tiny computer program with a unique ability for processing information, remembering patterns, and making predictions.

Hawkins' company Numenta has been at work with Edsa Micro. Adib Nasle, Edsa's president, says of HTM-based A.I., "We've seen some incredible speed improvements. Some approaches, you give too many examples and they get dumber. HTM seems not to suffer from that. It's pretty impressive."

The most likely future of artificial intelligence 0 is pretty impressive, indeed.

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24 Responses to “The Future of Artificial Intelligence”

  1. Clay says:

    Fascinating article!

  2. mikkie says:

    The concept of artificial intelligence is at the same time fascinating and frightening. Like any technology, it has the capacity for both good and evil, and with human nature behind it, I’m afraid it might quickly be used for evil.

  3. Tamara Howell says:

    20 years ago, the future of artificial intelligence seemed right around the corner – if we could only get past the uniquely human connection to hunches, emotions, and whims. Predict away, but I really don\’t think that it is there yet – and may it never be. If AI can take over, then what makes us necessary any longer?

  4. Mohan 05 says:

    ya this article is very important to everyone now a days. everyone will moving to new trends so we can improve our science knowledge so this types of articles are helps to know how the future of artificial intelligence…..

  5. JenniferDarling says:

    A very interesting and informative view on AI. The idea of Artificial Intelligence still scares me.

  6. moroianu says:

    the concept of artificial inteligence is amazing

  7. davids says:

    There are many models for developing artificial intelligence, I wouldn’t rule any out until a robot has actually replaced the rational mind of a human.

  8. RoryM says:

    The use of artificial intelligence in processing routine tasks that humans do will in time create a whole new level of productivity. Conceptually anything that needs some basic processing before a key decision is made is good for this, lets say like investing. A lot of work needs to be done before you get to a point where you are going to buy or sell a particular stock / bond or other investment. A simple intelligent screener would be a fantastic step up.

  9. luxy32 says:

    I find this article fascinating. It is interesting that they are creating the software to \"know nothing\" when it is created and then let it \"learn\" by what it is subjected to, etc. While I think this is a good way to go about creating AI, I still think that without a way to inject a moral code, the \"learning\" will still be synthetic in nature. I think the process once perfected will be able to make predictions on \"what will happen if?\" questions with a degree of accuracy, but I don\’t believe it will be able to imitate human intelligence. I read an article elsewhere that mentioned a group of researchers that were trying to get their AI to \"feel\". If these two teams got together, you might have something.

  10. MarcoPolo says:

    I really wish there was more information about this topic! Keep this good information coming. what are more sourced i can get more information about his?

  11. Johoo says:

    I think that it’s very exciting that we, as humans, have come to understand our own functions to the extent that we can begin to replicate them to this level with technology.

  12. peter webb says:

    I think this model of AI when fully developed lingually would be able to pull of a Turning test successfully.

  13. Kelli says:

    Wow you really do learn something new everyday

  14. Jodi Showers says:

    Very interesting article! I like it very much.

  15. ASteele says:

    Really raises some questions about what it means to be human and, particularly, intelligent. I have a hard time believing that we can ever create a machine that mimics the human brain. However, I think there’s the possibility that there will be machines that achieve the same goals.

  16. Roseline Palle says:

    Excellent artical..it gives us so much knowledge.we are not even aware of it…good job..Keep it up!

  17. essakkki says:

    This article shows that you have great interest in learning some thing different and then make other also to get idea of it.

  18. bobby says:

    Thia article is wonderful and idea of using AI to increase productivity and precision is wonderful.

  19. shubham says:

    artificial intelligence concept is awesome man………..

  20. tubeth2000 says:

    Wow, good information, it kind of makes you think whether the future is here, roght now for us to see. Keep the good work my friend!

  21. silambarasan says:

    The concept of artifical intelligence is fasinating. But at the same times it scares us becauses like all other scientific inventions it may be used for harmful activities.

  22. deepan says:

    Artificial intelligence is one of the developing technologies which require more attention from the technical people

  23. Sruthi says:

    This is article is wonderful & amazing.

  24. Andrews says:

    It is really great buddy……………

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I am a computer programmer that loves technology, gadgets, making & learning new stuff. I love to read & basically to figure crap out.

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