Artificial brains: radical technology could become reality by 2050

By Dick Pelletier

      

    As wild as this idea seems, within 40 years, neurons made from nanomaterials could enable humans to survive even the most horrendous accident, and as a bonus, acquire some remarkable new abilities.

    Researchers at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering have created a functioning synapse using neurons made from carbon nanotubes. In tests, their synapse circuits perform similar to normal biological neurons.

    Of course, duplicating synapse firings in nanotube circuits does not mean that scientists are ready to replace the human brain. The brain is extremely complex. Unlike the static inner workings of computers, brains are constantly making new neurons and connections as they adapt to changing environments. This plasticity, as it is referred to, cannot be duplicated with today's limited understanding of consciousness.

    However, while a fully-functioning synthetic brain may be years away, the artificial synapse is here now, and this could one day help scientists observe how events in our brains give rise to the life in our minds.

    Reverse-engineering the brain, a massive effort with completion expected by mid-to-late-2020s, will enable scientists to simulate the brain in a machine. This is the first step in creating computers more powerful than the human brain, says futurist Ray Kurzweil, author of The Singularity is Near.

    "The key lies in decoding and simulating the cerebral cortex, the seat of cognition," Kurzweil continues; "The human cortex has about 22 billion neurons and 220 trillion synapses." Today, computers capable of crunching this amount of data do not exist, but IBM experts believe that supercomputers with increased computational and memory capacity that can process this data will be available within three years.

    Nanoengineer John Burch, co-designer of the nanofactory video, Productive Nanosystems, predicts in his blog that expected advances in molecular nanotechnology will one day enable us to replace brain cells with damage-resistant nanomaterials that process thoughts faster than today's biological brains.

    "The new brain would include an exact copy of the structure and personality that existed before the conversion," Burch says, but it would run much faster and would increase our memory a thousand-fold. We could even control the speed of our thoughts, shifting from 100 milliseconds, the response time of todays brains, to 50 nanoseconds, millions of times faster.

    Creating thoughts at high speeds would slow everything down; at least that's how it would seem in our mind. Our perception would quicken, but activities would appear to happen slower. Events that seem like minutes in our mind would actually be happening in seconds. We would no longer panic in emergencies.

    Burch describes how we would switch to this new brain. A daily pill would supply nanomaterials and instructions for nanobots to form new neurons and position them next to existing brain cells to be replaced. These changes would be unnoticeable to us, but in six months, we would sport the new brain.

    Our artificial brain will allow wireless interface with computers and other digital technologies. We could access the Internet, control electronics, and make phone calls, with just our thoughts. In addition, we would understand complicated subjects; even speak a new language, without need for study.

    The most important benefit of our new brain could be its ability to survive disaster. Should we suffer a fatal accident, our body may be a total loss, but the moment the accident happened, nanobots would quickly repair our brain, if damaged. Information is then transmitted to a processing center where a new body is cloned, identical to our old body, except with all the latest features; ready for transfer of our brain.

    The accident victim would 'wake up,' not even realizing they had died. Biological brains die within minutes after the heart stops, but our new brain will simply turn itself off and wait for a new power supply.

    Experts predict these technologies could be in place by mid-century, but some wonder, will this make us less human; are we becoming cyborgs. Proponents explain that we already enjoy glasses, false teeth, titanium hip replacements, cochlear implants, and prosthetic limbs. Artificial brains and body clones are just the next stage in making our 21st century high-tech life more secure and enjoyable.

    Hey readers; does this radical technology make sense to you? Personally, once I get over the "yuck" factor of replacing my brain I see this as an incredible life-saving medical procedure. Comments welcome.

    This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.