“This research explains why humans are such a unique species. We evolve both genetically and culturally over time, but we are slowly becoming ever more cultural and ever less genetic,”
Source: Researchers: Culture drives human evolution more than genetics
“Handed report cards on a batch of frozen embryos, parents can use the test results to try to choose the healthiest ones. The grades include risk estimates for diabetes, heart attacks, and five types of cancer.
According to flyers distributed by the company, it will also warn clients about any embryo predicted to become a person who is among the shortest 2% of the population, or who is in the lowest 2% in intelligence.”
Source: The world’s first Gattaca baby tests are finally here – MIT Technology Review
The brain-inspired chip, based on OxRAM technology, has the capability of self-learning and has been demonstrated to have the ability to compose music.
Source: News Release – Imec demonstrates self-learning neuromorphic chip that composes music
What can we expect from Neuralink, the new Elon Musk company devoted to brain-computer interfaces?
This is very exciting technology, and I am fascinated by what it could mean. Here Eliza Strickland asks 5 neuroscience types what they implications and limitations could be.
Source: 5 Neuroscience Experts Weigh in on Elon Musk’s Mysterious “Neural Lace” Company – IEEE Spectrum
“Many people have long speculated that there has to be a basic design principle from which intelligence originates and the brain evolves, like how the double helix of DNA and genetic codes are universal for every organism,” Dr. Tsien said.
“We present evidence that the brain may operate on an amazingly simple mathematical logic.”
When used with awareness and attention, our tools foster embodied cognition—they become extensions of our bodies or our minds. But if we stop paying attention, those tools can come to dominate our lives and we become “functional cyborgs,” or fyborgs, to use Alexander Chislenko’s evocative blend. We necessarily extend ourselves technologically with eyeglasses or canes or hearing aids, but we frequently go far beyond that to use our latest tools—particularly smartphones and similar devices—to mediate all or most of our experiences.
I just read this great article in the Atlantic.
80 MILLION Americans have an IQ of 90 or below. What is your first gut reaction about those people when you hear that?
Throughout human history, the most valuable substance on Earth has been… the human brain. Even the dimmest of humans can be taught to do tasks that we still have trouble getting machines to do.
But that is changing rapidly. And just like jobs that require “muscle” (agriculture, manufacturing) have mostly disappeared, jobs that require structured thought (finance, law) are starting to disappear as well.
So that piece of wetware in your skull is going to be scrutinized further and further, as its economic value plummets and your worth as a cog in the GDP falls with it.
Source: The War on Stupid People
It seems more obvious every day that man and machine are quickly assimilating. The transparency that’s inherent in technology will eventually destroy privacy. Automation will eventually eliminate the need for human labor. There’s a short window of time between then and now. We need a master plan for how we’ll manage the disruption that goes along with it.
Source: The funny things happening on the way to singularity | TechCrunch
For the first time, researchers have developed a microscope capable of observing — and manipulating — neural activity in the brains of live animals at the scale of a single cell with millisecond precision. The device, which uses lasers to create holographic images within the brain, is envisioned as a “Rosetta Stone” to crack the code on how brains work.
Source: New microscope controls brain activity of live animals — ScienceDaily
What would happen if we combined synthetic and biological systems, creating an intelligent cyborg rat? How would it perform?
Researchers in China decided to find out by comparing the problem-solving abilities of rats, computers, and rat-computer “cyborgs,” as they reported in an open-access PLOS ONE paper.
Source: Rats vs. computers vs. rat cyborgs in maze navigation | KurzweilAI
