
Almost exactly
a year ago we noted
DARPA pouring nearly $5 million into an IBM project to develop a computer capable of emulating the
brain of a living creature. Having already modeled
half of a mouse's brain, the researchers were at that time heading toward the more ambitious territory of
feline intelligence, and today we can report on how far that cash injection and extra twelve months have gotten us. The first big announcement is that they have indeed succeeded in producing a computer simulation on par, in terms of complexity and scale, with a cat's brain. The second, perhaps more important, is that "jaw-dropping" progress has been made in the sophistication and detail level of human brain mapping. The reverse engineering of the brain is hoped to bring about new ways for building computers that mimic natural brain structures, an endeavor collectively termed as "cognitive computing." Read link will reveal more, and you can make your own
cyborg jokes in the comments below.