Herself’s Artificial Intelligence

A major challenge for pioneers in artificial intelligence has been to create a living neural network on an artificial substrate. Researching the field known as nanobiotechnology, Tel Aviv University scientists have shown that it is possible to store rudimentary memories in an artificial culture of live neurons. They are apparently the first in the world to have actually stored information in a cultured neural network for an extended period.

Published in Physical Review E last month, TAU physics Professors Itay Baruchi and Eshel Ben-Jacob report the ability to record information in a man-made network of neurons. They say this is a step toward a cyborg-like amalgamation of living material and memory chips. The research may also help neurologists understand how our brains learn and store information.

This is the first time, says Ben-Jacob, that multiple rudimentary memories have been imprinted in neural networks cultured outside the brain. . .

More information:
Living Neural Networks Could Drive War Machines
TAU takes first steps in creating living cyberbrain | Jerusalem Post
Time-invariant person-specific frequency templates in human brain activity ( 2006 article Baruchi/Ben-Jacob )
Towards neuro-memory-chip: Imprinting multiple memories in cultured neural networks ( not free $25 )