This year, the revolution in interest in artificial intelligence has significantly influenced how experts in neuroscience and psychology think about biological intelligence and the learning process.
AI Technology Decodes Brain Content
Researchers have demonstrated the benefits of integrating artificial intelligence with neuroscience by reporting on how brain scans using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were combined with AI-powered large language models to attempt to understand what is happening inside a person’s head. The model was embodied at the University of Texas at Austin, and the model was able to replicate stories that the person listened to or invented while in the scanner. Researchers recorded brain activity when participants listened to certain words. The data from these scans were then used to train the AI model to discover patterns in how the brain activated in response to those words. The system then conducted a new set of scans, predicting, based on its training, what the person heard during those scans. It may take some time before you can purchase this type of technology on Amazon, as these inferential achievements require extensive training. The best the current system can do is provide a general idea of what you might be thinking.
Go Game Victories Inspire Gameplay Improvement
When the “super” AI developed by Google’s DeepMind defeated world champion Go player Lee Sedol in 2016, it raised collective concerns about what this kind of dominance might mean for humans (who had already been defeated by computers in chess). Some researchers studied how Go players reacted to the defeat. The results, published in March, showed some optimism about the future of cooperation between humans and AI systems: the study revealed that the Go community benefited from Sedol’s defeat as a learning experience. These players analyzed the program’s moves and discovered that some had never been seen in human play. They then incorporated those moves into their own games – an example of AI interacting with humans that ultimately improves human play and provides insights into how such collaborations can enhance human decision-making.
Will We Understand Consciousness by 2048?
Headlines around the world revealed the outcome of a long-standing 25-year bet between philosopher David Chalmers and neuroscientist Christoph Koch. The wager was settled at a conference at New York University in June, regarding whether neuroscience would be able to provide a “clear” neural signature of consciousness by this year. Koch – who believed a quarter of a century ago that a consciousness signature would have been established by now – reluctantly had to agree that this lofty goal has not yet been accomplished. He then presented Chalmers with a fine bottle of wine, pledging to revisit the issue in 25 years to assess whether more “clarity” in breakthrough consciousness has been achieved. The conference also focused on the results of intended experiments to test two leading theories of consciousness; it was agreed that both need further work.
Suppressing Bad Thoughts Makes You Feel Better
Not everything in neuroscience is about artificial intelligence. Clinical psychologists have done remarkable work without needing to leverage large language model resources. A simple step that can be taken at home involves stopping the flow of negative thoughts that may be swirling in your head. The idea that if you ignore sad thoughts and images, they will definitely come back to haunt you later does not align with reality, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge in England. This is great news for people suffering from anxiety, depression, or trauma. It appears that suppressing this negative flow actually reduces the intensity of a person’s internal worries.
Gary
Stix is the neuroscience and psychology editor at Scientific American. He commissions, edits, and reports on emerging developments and technologies that have pushed neuroscience to the forefront of biological sciences. The advancements documented in numerous cover stories, featured articles, and news highlight pioneering neuroimaging techniques that reveal what happens in the brain during thought processes. The arrival of brain implants that alleviate mood disorders like depression; lab-grown brains; psychological flexibility; meditation; sleep patterns; a new era of psychoactive drugs and artificial intelligence and growing understanding leading to a better grasp of our conscious selves. Before taking on neuroscience coverage, Stix served as editor for special projects at Scientific American, where he headed the annual issue of special topics on a single subject, producing an issue he edited on time which won the magazine’s National Magazine Award. In addition to covering mind and brain topics, Stix has edited or written cover stories about quants on Wall Street, building the tallest building in the world, Olympic training methods, molecular electronics, what makes us human, and the things we should and shouldn’t eat. Stix started a monthly column titled “Practical Knowledge,” giving readers insights into the design and function of everyday technologies, from lie detector machines to Velcro. Eventually, he became the magazine’s graphic science column. He also began a column on patents and intellectual property, as well as one on the origins of the brilliant ideas behind new technologies in fields such as electronics and biotechnology. Stix is the co-author, with his wife Miriam Lakhin, of an instructional book titled “Who Gives a Gigabyte: A Survival Guide for the Technologically Perplexed” (John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2023s-mind-bending-revelations-in-the-brain-sciences/
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