Google's 'DeepMind' AI platform can now learn without human input

In a significant step forward for artificial intelligence, Alphabet's hybrid system -- called a Differential Neural Computer (DNC) -- uses the existing data storage capacity of conventional computers while pairing it with smart AI and a neural net capable of quickly parsing it. "These models can learn from examples like neural networks, but they can also store complex data like computers," wrote DeepMind researchers Alexander Graves and Greg Wayne. Much like the brain, the neural network uses an interconnected series of nodes to stimulate specific centers needed to complete a task. Instead of having to learn every possible outcome to find a solution, DeepMind can derive an answer from prior experience, unearthing the answer from its internal memory rather than from outside conditioning and programming.