The future of technology

[JeTTigeR]

Since the the human brain is apparently faster than a PC with more memory then why dont we shouldent we make organic brain like PC's? Mabye soon we could have software that we could install in our own minds.

[Rkiver]

Why don't we already? Simple, that level of genetic programming is currently beyond us. Now I'm not saying that we wont someday be able to do that, but I don't see it honestly occuring within my lifetime anyway. For the moment that is the realm of science fiction, like Johnny Mnemonic.

[Blasted heath]

Even if such a thing was possible, how would you propose you would get software into the human brain in the first place?

Besides, even if it were possible to do this, the level of debugging needed to make sure there were absolutely no flaws in a program would have to be phenomenal. Just imagine a program freezing up someone's brain, goodbye breathing, heart control etc.

[TimTim]

Why does the brain have to be in the body. Surely we can support a human brain without it been inside a body. Then the necessaty of non-conscience fucnitions are no longer necessary to worry about.

[Disco Stuie_uplink]

I believe it has been done, briefly. Some guy made an electrochemical goop, and managed to keep minimal brain function going for a minute or two by suspending the brain in a jar of goop whilst passing a curernt through it. He also had an EEG rigged up; the brain was still clinically active, but similar to in a coma, ie no concious brain function, just basic bodily control and management.

Oh, and since you're all wondering, NO, this wasn't a dream, NO, this wasn't a film, YES, I read it in some science magazine, and YES, the brain came from some murderer who had been given a death sentence, but for some reason wanted to help the scientific cause. I don't know any more than that, but I am 99.9% sure it happened.

[Stewsburntmonkey]

It looks like computers will out strip human brains in 30-50 years. It would almost certainly take at least that long to work out biological programming so there is really little point in pushing that, it seems. Also human brains are only faster and better at certain things. Human's can only remember so much and while humans are great at some things, like catching balls or seeing, they are poor at others. This is largely due to limitations of our brains. Computers can already do math and store pure information better than humans can. In 40 years or so computer will likely be able to do just about everything better than the human brain. While even if we could program brains it is likely they would never be able do math, store information, etc better than computers. One interesting method currently being used in Artificial Intellegence in neural net programming. Basically computers are used to mimic the function of human brains. This allows computers to do things in simular ways to human brains. Currently computer power limits how many nodes we can use in this, but this will continue to increase as time goes on so eventually (40 years or so) we could do this on a human brain scale.

[SargentJazza]

Are you insane! The whole idea is mental. What if someone created "computer-brain" viruses, they will be able to control everyone. And when you say computers, well, it's the AI software that will be more intelligent, you can have the fastest computer in the world but it's not useful if it runs DOS but then again it's just as bad having the best AI software that learns on a P1 266.
http://www.poplog.org/docs/popdocs/pop11/teach/aithemes
Go there for more information

[Stewsburntmonkey]

That link is quite out of date, though still useful.

Many AI problems have been proven to take massive computing power even with perfect algorithms (software). Of course a super computer is useless without programming, however many AI problems simply cannot be accomplished on todays hardware, no matter how perfect the programming.

Human minds are already rather suseptible to "hacking". . .

[JeTTigeR]

Are you insane! The whole idea is mental.

Have you not seen Ghost in the Shell?
Thats were my idear originated from.

[Flamekebab]

Sure, you could end up with virii made to damage human brains, such as seen in the book Broken Angels. But if there were virii, surely we would be able to develop anti-virus programs?

Also, it wouldn't have to be a human brain, it could be any brain, kept outside the body, instead of a traditional computer.

[The cat]

Human minds are already rather suseptible to "hacking". . .

Haha... Well, sometimes it is possible very easily.

[Deepsmeg]

Hrmm...
Have computer software running in our minds.
And maybe set it up so we can network our minds to transfer knowledge...
And maybe have everyone's mind connected.
Perhaps we could make a virtual cityscape in the data tranfser software so it looks like "real life".
yeah...

[The cat]

And maybe set it up so we can network our minds to transfer knowledge...

Wow, and then we will have to develop sharing files programs... But then RIAA will sue us, damn...

[ToRmEnToR]

Have you not seen Ghost in the Shell?
Thats were my idear originated from.

How can you be so sure that viruses as we know them would still be present when the interaction between brains and computers will become publicly available? I'm sure that security will be the main issue (if the security we are talking about is security as we know it) when it comes to brain - computer interactions, for obvious reasons.

Ghost in the shell was a good movie though...

And I think stews has a good point there,

Human minds are already rather suseptible to "hacking". . .

[Deepsmeg]

I've got thjis song stuck in my head.

And now everyone is downloading it!
And I need to pay royalties!