Professor to build mechanical brain
Utah State University computer science professor Hugo de Garis is developing technology leading to the creation of a mechanical, computer-driven brain. He also plans to explore the issues surrounding this innovative technology.
“We may replace ourselves!” de Garis said about the future of the technology he is researching.
The machine that de Garis hopes to eventually build would have all of the cognitive and creative capacity that a human brain has, but it would function a million times faster because the signals moving from one neuron, or brain cell, to the next would be electronic instead of chemical like in a biological brain. As a result, these signals would move at the speed of light.
In talking about the development of the technology, de Garis uses terms normally associated with biology to describe the technological components and processes he is dealing with, such as “neuron,” “chromosome” and “evolution.”
He describes how, in a very basic sense, what he does is make hundreds of networks of microchips, each referred to as a neuron. These neurons are then tested and rated on their ability to process random strings of binary information. The ones that do the best are kept, duplicated, categorized and given different functions within the mechanical brain. The ones that don’t do well are thrown out. This process is referred to as evolution because it parallels the idea of biological evolution. Through this complicated process, de Garis plans on developing electronic neuro-networks that are identical if not superior to those in biological brains, which will be able to perform all of the functions a human brain can.
De Garis pointed out that the concept is not as fantastical as it may seem, since they are already developing this kind of technology in Japan in the form of a toy called the AIBO, which is Japanese for “companion” but also stands for artificial intelligence robot. These toys, in the shape of a small dog, are already capable of voice and face recognition and are able to obey a few simple commands.
However, the social and political implications of this new technology are more important to de Garis than the technology itself.
“It’s kind of a goal or a mission of mine to make these issues known to the world,” de Garis said.
He refers to the discussion of these issues as the “species dominance debate.” This debate is based on the hypothesis that if technology continues to develop at the rate it has been for the last few decades, in about 20 years the technology will exist to create machines superior to humans. The idea seems far-fetched, but for de Garis and other scientists in his field, it is not just science fiction but a very real possibility. De Garis brought up the point that in the 1930s the population as a whole considered the development of a bomb capable of destroying an entire city as merely science fiction, but the scientists working with nuclear physics in the ’30s saw it as a possibility.
If trends in technology continue as they have been, de Garis said, “In about 20 years, computer scientists will be putting one bit of information in a single atom.”
This, coupled with the mechanical brain technology he is developing, could make possible the creation of machines with artificial intellect, referred to by de Garis as “artilects.” If such machines are allowed to be invented, de Garis predicts they will be vastly superior to humans and might replace humans as the dominant species.
The species dominance debate deals with whether or not humans should create these machines. Just as the conflict between capitalism and socialism has been the basis of conflict during the past century, de Garis predicts that the species dominance debate will be the cause of global conflict and controversy during the next century, with two main sides arguing either for or against the creation of these machines. Although it sounds very much like a scene from “The Terminator” or “The Matrix,” for scientists like de Garis it is a very important issue which must be discussed.
De Garis uses the phrase, “Do we build gods or do we build our potential exterminators?” as the main focus of this debate. In the past he received two international media hits per week about this subject and he is now writing a book about the debate.
In the next year, de Garis hopes to receive a research grant which would allow him to continue with the development of his mechanical brain and also let him continue making this issue known to the world.
De Garis does not currently have a machine he is working with to develop this mechanical brain.
In 1996, he acquired a half million dollar machine that he used until the machine and other research material was lost a few years ago in the “Dot Com Crash.” Up until that time, de Garis, a native of Australia, worked in six different countries as an international research scientist.
“I’m accustomed to a high-profile lifestyle,” de Garis said.
After the loss of his research equipment, a lack of funding, and various other complications of a personal nature, de Garis sought a more stable occupation and ended up at USU as a professor in the computer science department, where he plans to resume his research soon.
-sjeppesen@cc.usu.edu