Using Neural Networks to Read Minds

In the development of artificial intelligence applications, the holy grail is the creation of an artificial neural network that functions like the human brain. This is an elusive goal, because the human brain is an extremely complex organ that functions in flexible and fluid ways that can be difficult to replicate in the world of AI. Today, a team of researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal are making breakthroughs with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of people's brains while carrying out various cognitive tasks. The goal is to develop better understand and create computational models of how the brain works, and then use those models to train artificial neural networks to map the images to actions quickly and accurately. This would be a big leap forward for the AI world, according to one of the lead researchers on the project, Dr. Pierre Bellec, an associate professor at the University of Montreal.