Will computers outperform the human brain? | Dr. Pero Mićić on neurocomputers #Futurequestions

Our brain is the most complex system in the known universe. Will it stay that way? For how much longer?

Even Gordon Moore, the famous founder of Intel, said it in 2007: Moore's law, according to which the transistor density and thus the performance of a computer chip doubles every 18 months, will soon no longer apply.

Intel itself has not been planning with Moore's Law since 2016, because the performance of conventional computers will no longer grow exponentially. The mechanical limits will soon be reached.

Parallel computing will continue to increase performance, but at a much slower pace. So, is this really the end of the computer revolution?

The decisive factor is the computing power, not the technology used. And that's where great improvements are coming.

Scientists have long been working on new computer concepts such as quantum computers and bio-computers to replace the silicon-based computers we use today.

Neurocomputers use the way a human brain processes information as a biological model. Their artificial nerve cells and synapses imitate the human brain. And they are starting a new era in computer technology.

Our brain is amazingly powerful. The performance of the human brain, with its 100 billion nerve cells and 100 trillion synapses, is still many times higher than that of today's computers.

Above all through parallel processing. Many processes in our brain run side by side.

For some time now, smaller neural networks could be run on conventional hardware, but only with extremely high energy consumption and quite limited performance.

But the latest neurocomputers are significantly more energy-efficient than a conventional computer and are improving at an incredible pace.

Researchers at IBM developed 'TrueNorth' (Link), a neuromorphic processor inspired by the functioning of the neocortex with 256 million synapses. Still a lot weaker than our brains.

And they developed artificial neurons based on phase-change materials. But the performance is still a fraction of the complexity of the human brain.

What can we expect if progress in this area is exponential as it will continue to be?

The coupling of high computing speed and massive parallelism in information processing will lead to breakthroughs that are hardly imaginable today. In ten to fifteen years, neurocomputers could be in use everywhere.

The power of artificial intelligence relies on three factors. First, the performance of the software. But secondly on the performance of the hardware and thirdly on the availability of huge amounts of data.

On the basis of the data from billions of networked digital archives, devices and objects, AI that runs on neurocomputers will make decisions and discover hidden connections.

It will analyze complex situations and recommend the appropriate actions, optimize the traffic flow of autonomous vehicles, make far better diagnoses of diseases and make weather forecasts way more accurate.

By 2030, our brain could be in second place. Then it will no longer be the most complex system in the known universe. Then it could be neurocomputers. Then the crown of creation could have declassified itself.

The more successful the systems become, the more we will trust them - and in certain areas hand over responsibility to them. Neurocomputers will also compete with us on the labour market.

Countless small and large companies will either have to change radically or disappear from the market. And in the long term? Around 2030 to 2040, computers should be able to imitate the performance and functioning of the human brain 1:1.

Should this be achieved one day it is also conceivable to transfer human consciousness as a copy to an artificial system. And possibly back again on a human being. Nobody knows today whether this will ever work.

It would not only be a new era of computer technology, but above all a new human era.

Some futurists claim that we can only compete with neurocomputers if we add neurocomputers to our brains. But that is another topic. There is a good chance that you will experience this era in your lifetime.

Now what?

There is still a long time pass before we have to upgrade our brains. But: Make sure that you personally focus on such tasks that will be reserved for humans in the future. These are above all tasks with little routine and a lot of emotion and compassion.

And please make sure that your company does not ignore the arising opportunities but seizes them to remain competitive and gain a competitive edge.