How to Create a Mind summary

The neocortex is the brain’s outermost layer and accounts for the majority of its mass. Its size is unique to modern human beings. The neocortex is responsible for many important brain functions, such as object recognition, language comprehension and body control.

The brain’s neocortex stores and organizes information hierarchically. This makes sense, as everything we do, including thinking, can be broken down into hierarchies and patterns.

Like any good manager, the neocortex is a proficient networker. Depending on the task, it cooperates with other parts of the brain to get a job done.

Whenever we see, hear, touch or smell an object, the sensory information we receive starts its journey in the sensory cortex and moves through the thalamus before reaching the neocortex.

To be human is truly fantastic. So fantastic, many think, that quintessentially human experiences and activities, such as creating art, couldn’t possibly be accounted for by purely neurological processes.

But is this really true?

Inventors don’t always start from scratch. Sometimes they find inspiration for innovation in nature.

One such bit of inspiration is right between your ears: the brain. If we could create an artificial mind, why not simply develop a “digital” neocortex that emulates the functions of the human brain?

If you’ve ever tried to chat with iPhone’s Siri or any other online bot, you know such software is seldom convincingly human. At least not yet.

But Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are quickly becoming smarter and more autonomous. IBM’s Watson, for example, provides an early look at the possibilities of AI. In 2011, millions of people watched as Watson defeated some of the best contestants on the American game show, Jeopardy!

If we can indeed create true artificial intelligence, when can we expect such machines to be a “normal” part of society?

As it turns out, technology is rapidly catching up with the requirements of AI. The author’s so-called law of accelerating returns describes the predictable, ever-accelerating growth of information technology. Assuming technological development follows this trajectory, in the very near future it will be advanced enough to simulate the human brain.