
Rutgers researchers and their collaborators have found that learning — a universal feature of intelligence in living beings — can be mimicked in synthetic matter, a discovery that in turn could inspire new algorithms for artificial intelligence (AI).
Rutgers researchers and their collaborators have found that learning — a universal feature of intelligence in living beings — can be mimicked in synthetic matter, a discovery that in turn could inspire new algorithms for artificial intelligence (AI).
The study appears in the journal PNAS.
One of the fundamental characteristics of humans is the ability to continuously learn from and adapt to changing environments. But until recently, AI has been narrowly focused on emulating human logic. Now, researchers are looking to mimic human cognition in devices that can learn, remember and make decisions the way a human brain does.
Emulating such features in the solid state could inspire new algorithms in AI and neuromorphic computing that would have the flexibility to address uncertainties, contradictions and other aspects of everyday life. Neuromorphic computing mimics the neural structure and operation of the human brain, in part, by building artificial nerve systems to transfer electrical signals that mimic brain signals.
Researchers from Rutgers, Purdue and other institutions studied how the electrical conductivity of nickel oxide, a special type of insulating material, responded when its environment was changed repeatedly over various time intervals.
“The goal was to find a material whose electrical conductivity can be tuned by modulating the concentration of atomic defects with external stimuli such as oxygen, ozone and light,” said Subhasish Mandal, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers-New Brunswick. “We studied how this material behaves when we dope the system with oxygen or hydrogen, and most importantly, how the external stimulation changes the material’s electronic properties.”
The researchers found that when the gas stimulus changed rapidly, the material couldn’t respond in full. It stayed in an unstable state in either environment and its response began to decrease. When the researchers introduced a noxious stimulus such as ozone, the material began to respond more strongly only to decrease again.
“The most interesting part of our results is that it demonstrates universal learning characteristics such as habituation and sensitization that we generally find in living species,” Mandal said. “These material characteristics in turn can inspire new algorithms for artificial intelligence. Much as collective motion of birds or fish have inspired AI, we believe collective behavior of electrons in a quantum solid can do the same in the future.
“The growing field of AI requires hardware that can host adaptive memory properties beyond what is used in today’s computers,” he added. “We find that nickel oxide insulators, which historically have been restricted to academic pursuits, might be interesting candidates to be tested in future for brain-inspired computers and robotics.”
Original Article: Researchers Find Human Learning Can be Duplicated in Synthetic Matter
More from: Rutgers University | Purdue University | University of Georgia | Argonne National Laboratory
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Brain-inspired computers
- MSU neuroscience department is buzzing about annual Brain Beeon February 5, 2023 at 4:15 pm
Michigan State University’s 11th annual Brain Bee will be held in person on Saturday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
- Brain-Computer Interface Tech Hits a Huge Milestoneon February 1, 2023 at 3:59 pm
Move over, Elon Musk. Synchron, a rival to Neuralink, has achieved a major milestone for the brain-computer interface (BCI) field with the first-in-human U.S. implant using an endovascular ...
- Can the brain compete with advanced artificial intelligence systems?on January 31, 2023 at 11:17 am
Artificial intelligence stems from human brain dynamics, but brain learning is restricted in a number of significant aspects compared to deep learning.
- Precision Neuroscience is making brain implants safer, smarter and reversibleon January 31, 2023 at 10:23 am
Brain researchers have relied on devices called microelectrode arrays for decades, but the technology behind these tools is increasingly outdated. Precision Neuroscience is building a modern ...
- Is artificial intelligence faster than brain learning? Study findson January 31, 2023 at 5:47 am
Can the brain, with its limited realization of precise mathematical operations, compete with advanced artificial intelligence systems implemented on fast and parallel computers? From our daily ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Brain-inspired computers
[google_news title=”” keyword=”brain-inspired computers” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Mimicking human cognition in devices
- The Difference Between Speaking and Thinkingon February 1, 2023 at 8:52 pm
“In line with evidence from cognitive neuroscience,” the authors ... be intelligent—the flip side being that narrowly mimicking human utterances is precisely what is holding machines back.
- Academics voice concern over ChatGPTon January 31, 2023 at 9:36 pm
They say while the artificial intelligence-driven bot can be put to good use, there will be others who will abuse the technology to cheat on their assignments.
- Artificial Skin Exceeds Natural Skin in Sensing Touch and Proximityon January 26, 2023 at 8:01 am
As lovers might vouch, complex nuances of touch, including nearness sans physical contact and gradations of tactile pressure, convey a rich sensory experience and multi-dimensional cognitive ... By ...
- The US Just Greenlit High-Tech Alternatives to Animal Testingon January 21, 2023 at 3:00 am
Animal testing has long been necessary for a drug to gain approval by the US Food and Drug Administration—but it may be on its way out. A new law seeks to replace some lab animal use with high-tech ...
- Why mimicking human organs on ‘chips’ could be a gamechanger for drug researchon January 13, 2023 at 7:59 am
Both are limited by their poor ability to mimic the conditions ... they would in the human body, specifically with organs-on-chips. The “chip” refers to the microfluidic device that encases ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Mimicking human cognition in devices
[google_news title=”” keyword=”mimicking human cognition in devices” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]