Monash University, in a pioneering research initiative led by Associate Professor Adeel Razi, from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, has secured a prestigious grant of nearly $600,000 AUD from the National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grants Program.
This funding will support their groundbreaking project focused on the integration of human brain cells onto silicon chips, equipped with novel continual learning capabilities poised to revolutionize the field of machine learning.
Collaborating closely with Melbourne-based startup Cortical Labs, the research program centers on cultivating a remarkable 800,000 brain cells within a controlled environment. These neural networks are subsequently nurtured to acquire the capacity to execute goal-oriented tasks.
Notably, their previous work garnered widespread attention on a global scale when the team successfully demonstrated the capabilities of these cultivated brain cells.
In particular, these mini-brains exhibited their swift acquisition of skills by mastering a computer game resembling tennis—Pong—within a mere five minutes. Although occasional misses were observed, their overall success rate substantially exceeded random chance, marking a remarkable milestone in the realm of artificial intelligence and neural interface technologies.
According to Associate Professor Razi, the research program’s work using lab-grown brain cells embedded onto silicon chips, “merges the fields of artificial intelligence and synthetic biology to create programmable biological computing platforms,” he said.
“This new technology capability in future may eventually surpass the performance of existing, purely silicon-based hardware.”
“The outcomes of such research would have significant implications across multiple fields such as, but not limited to, planning, robotics, advanced automation, brain-machine interfaces, and drug discovery, giving Australia a significant strategic advantage.”
The project garnered funding from the prestigious Australian grant body because the new generation of applications of machine learning, such as self-driving cars and trucks, autonomous drones, delivery robots, intelligent hand-held and wearable devices, “will require a new type of machine intelligence that is able to learn throughout its lifetime,” Associate Professor Razi said.
This “continual lifelong learning” means machines can acquire new skills without compromising old ones, adapt to changes, and apply previously learned knowledge to new tasks—all while conserving limited resources such as computing power, memory and energy.
Current AI cannot do this and suffers from “catastrophic forgetting”. In contrast, brains excel at continual lifelong learning.
The project’s aim is to grow human brain cells in a laboratory dish, called the DishBrain system, to understand the various biological mechanisms that underlie lifelong continual learning.
“We will be using this grant to develop better AI machines that replicate the learning capacity of these biological neural networks. This will help us scale up the hardware and methods capacity to the point where they become a viable replacement for in silico computing,“ Associate Professor Razi said.
Brain in a vat
Within the realm of philosophy, the concept known as the “brain in a vat” (BIV) serves as a pivotal scenario employed in numerous thought experiments. These experiments are designed to elucidate specific aspects of human understanding, such as knowledge, reality, truth, consciousness, and the nature of the mind, along with the meaning attributed to these concepts.
The “brain-in-a-vat” scenario represents a contemporary rendition of a fundamental argument, drawing parallels with historical philosophical ideas. These include the Hindu Maya illusion, Plato’s renowned Allegory of the Cave, Zhuangzi’s thought-provoking narrative of “Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly,” and the malevolent demon featured in René Descartes’ celebrated work, “Meditations on First Philosophy.”
Related Stories
Is ChatGPT safe at work? You may give away company secrets
We asked ChatGPT to write “The Future of ChatGPT”
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner’s a legal notice to Twitter
