[ExI] Kelly's future

[Damien Sullivan]

On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 03:55:57PM -0600, Kelly Anderson wrote:
> On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 3:33 PM, Samantha Atkins <sjatkins at mac.com> wrote:

> > One problem in a brain emulator that is pretty critical is how to
> > separate all those things laid down by evolution that you do not
> > want, or at least want in a more optimal form, from those you do
> > want. ?One problem is that currently it would take a 4GW power plant
> > just to run a cat brain partial emulation. ?We need some device
> > breakthroughs like perhaps memristors.

>   When I say "brain emulation", what I mean in detail is emulation of
> the human model, and not necessarily the human cellular
> implementation. Some organelles of the brain may be simulated in a

I'd guess Samantha's just talking about modeling the brain as an
abstract neural network, with each neuron being modeled simply as its
synaptic weights, never mind organelles or molecular activity.  I figure
it would take 100 million desktop-PC equivalents to model the human
brain like that, which at 20 watts per PC would be 2 GW.  And I've read
a modern workstation can be more like 400 W.  Actual modeling the
insides of the neurons, I can't even estimate that.

Meanwhile, the actual human brain operates on like 15 W.

> much more efficient manner than nature has implemented them. For
> example, some of the organelles in the auditory and visual pathways
> have already been emulated with great precision, without using
> billions of emulated cells to do so.

You seem to be using 'organelle' oddly.  I use it for things like
mitochondria.

-xx- Damien X-)