New Chip Borrows Brain's Computing Tricks

IBM has unveiled an experimental chip that borrows tricks from brains to power a cognitive computer, a machine able to learn from and adapt to its environment. Reactions to the computer giant's press release about SyNAPSE, short for Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronic, have ranged from conservative to zany. Some even claim it's IBM's attempt to recreate a cat brain from silicon. "Each neuron in the brain is a processor and memory, and part of a social network, but that's where the brain analogy ends. We're not trying to simulate a brain," said IBM spokeswoman Kelly Sims.