The Key to Smarter AI: Copy the Brain

Until AI can learn on the fly as our brains do, it will never be truly intelligent. One avenue to teaching AI to act like the brain is to study the brain itself. At the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, we are developing brain-computer interfaces--devices that sit directly in or on the brain and record cell activity, allowing us to see how neural signals translate into actions like movement and speech. We've used this knowledge to enable paralyzed patients to move robotic limbs and regain a sense of touch. First we ask a volunteer with a brain implant to imagine moving her arm.