Research into merging human brain cells with artificial intelligence (AI) has received a US$600,000 grant from Australia’s Department of Defence and Office of National Intelligence (ONI).
The research team, led by Monash University and Cortical Labs, is the one that created DishBrain — brain cells capable of playing the vintage video game Pong.
Associate professor Adeel Razi, from the university’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, said their work “merges the fields of artificial intelligence and synthetic biology to create programmable biological computing platforms.”
Photo: AFP
Hundreds of thousands of live, lab-grown brain cells learn how to do different tasks — such as playing Pong. A multi-electrode array uses electrical activity to give the cells feedback about when the “paddle” is hitting the “ball.”
The researchers wrote in an article, published in the science magazine Neuron, that a synthetic biological intelligence “previously confined to the realm of science fiction” could be within reach.
Razi said the team won the ONI and Department of Defence National Security Science and Technology Centre grant because a new type of machine intelligence that could “learn throughout its lifetime” was needed.
Such intelligence would improve machine learning for technology including self-driving cars, autonomous drones and delivery robots, he said.
“This new technology capability in the future may eventually surpass the performance of existing, purely silicon-based hardware,” Razi said. “The outcomes of such research would have significant implications across multiple fields such as — but not limited to — planning, robotics, advanced automation, brain-machine interfaces and drug discovery, giving Australia a significant strategic advantage.”
Brains are good at lifelong learning, which is needed to gain new skills, adapt to change and apply existing knowledge to new tasks, while artificial intelligence suffers from what researchers call “catastrophic forgetting.” AI typically forgets information from previous tasks when it starts new ones.
The DishBrain research aims to understand the biological mechanisms behind ongoing learning.
“We will be using this grant to develop better AI machines that replicate the learning capacity of these biological neural networks,” Razi said. “This will help us scale up the hardware and methods capacity to the point where they become a viable replacement for in-silico computing [using simulations].”
The news comes as AI leaders call on the government to recognize “the potential for catastrophic or existential risks from AI.”
The organization Australians For AI Safety has written a letter to Australian Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic, signed by academics and industry heads.
Husic has announced a government review of AI, saying “what we want is modern laws for modern technology.”
The letter calls on him to “recognise that catastrophic and existential consequences are possible,” to work with the global community to manage the risks, to support research into AI safety, and to “urgently train the AI safety auditors that industry will soon need.”
Spokesman Greg Sadler said Australia was “falling behind” when it came to paying attention to AI dangers.
“What’s alarming is that even deliberate and methodical bodies like the United Nations have recognised the potential for catastrophic or existential risks from AI, but the Australian government won’t,” he said.
Husic said when launching the review that using AI safely and responsibly was “a balancing act the whole world is grappling with.”
“The upside is massive, whether it’s fighting superbugs with new AI-developed antibiotics or preventing online fraud,” he said. “But as I have been saying for many years, there needs to be appropriate safeguards to ensure the safe and responsible use of AI.”
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS