Brain-Inspired AI Startup Challenges GPT’s Dominance with Gates Foundation Funding

The Gates Foundation is funding Numenta, a company founded by Jeff Hawkins, to develop AI inspired by the human brain, potentially challenging the current dominance of large language models like GPT.

Key Takeaways:

• Numenta, founded by PalmPilot co-inventor Jeff Hawkins, has received $2.7 million from the Gates Foundation to develop AI software based on Hawkins’ theories about the human brain.
• Hawkins believes that AI should behave like the neocortex, the part of the brain responsible for thinking, acting, and speaking, in order to achieve true intelligence.
• The funding will support Numenta’s Thousand Brains Project, which aims to release code reflecting Hawkins’ concepts.

The Human Brain as Inspiration:

• Neural networks, the foundation of modern AI, were initially inspired by the brain’s neurons but have since diverged in favor of size and scope over the brain’s efficiency.
• Large language models like GPT rely on transformer architectures and massive amounts of training data, but some experts believe this approach may eventually plateau.
• The human brain, despite being small and energy-efficient, is much more intelligent than current AI systems, inspiring researchers to explore alternative approaches.

Hawkins’ Vision:

• Hawkins believes that understanding the cortical columns of the neocortex, which build models of the world and make predictions, is key to developing truly intelligent machines.
• While current scientific understanding of the brain is incomplete, Hawkins argues that theories about its workings could inspire new AI algorithms that better understand the world.
• Hawkins, known for being ahead of the curve with ideas like the PalmPilot, hopes the Thousand Brains Project will attract researchers to move beyond large language models.

Potential Implications:

• If successful, Hawkins’ brain-inspired AI could lead to a future where machines take over human labor and generate all economic value, representing a major technological breakthrough.
• However, critics argue that Hawkins’ ideas, while grand in theory, may lack pragmatism and business applications, which could limit their impact.
• The rapid improvement of large language models and the significant investment in the AI industry suggest that artificial general intelligence may be achievable through scaling up current approaches, rather than pursuing brain-inspired alternatives.