Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Learn Anything Instantly?
Computers are able to download programs and instantly run and execute them, they don't need to "learn" them, they just need to be able to access the information in order to fully utilize it. People, and animals in general, on the other hand, require strenuous amounts of training in order to be able to replicate behaviors or abilities. This was the topic of this article on ScienceDaily.com, primarily because of the fact that a recent study on songbirds has shown that their memories and abilities to sing can be enhanced through the use of implants, in the absence of traditional training and learning from parental figures.
The study detailed used optogenetics, a method of using light to control brain activity, to activate certain neurons and encode syllable duration lengths for the songs of these songbirds. They reacted in accordance with how long the activation period was, the shorter the activation time, the shorter the note. The were able to have songbirds that have never heard their father sing, be able to sing exactly how long and how short syllables they wanted.
This discovery has the potential to be huge, if more research is done, since the ability to manipulate memories and be able to implant behavior-goal setting memories has the potential to change human life entirely from how we know it. Imagine being able to learn how to play the piano expertly, without ever having to actually touch one. This kind of technology would potentially have no limits in its usefulness. If it were able to gain traction and become easily accessible to the masses, we would no longer have a use for institutions like schools since all types of education can just be done like how computers are today, "downloaded". People would be able to pick up languages like it's just a new app from the App Store. People could even communicate experiences to each other, just by having their memory transcribed into someone else's memory bank.
To be entirely honest, I don't think I'd ever want it to get to that point, since I predict that people would just choose to know everything and possess every ability they can. I can see this leading to everyone being very similar, in that there is no variation among the experiences of people and there can be no verbal sharing of experiences or knowledge. I find that to be a very rewarding experience, being able to have wisdom passed onto you by someone else gradually rather than just being able to instantaneously absorb it.
Posted by Brian Lee (5)
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As interesting as it would be to be able to download information rather than having to learn it I 100% agree with you that I don't think its something tat I would want. I feel like the things that make us unique are our experiences and hardships. Everyone is different in their own way. I think having everything downloaded would prohibit people from forming passions. Without passions, people would be lazy at their jobs and I honestly think this would not bode well for the future. This was a very interesting article for me because I have never thought about this topic before.
ReplyDelete- Sophie DeRepentigny
When I first started to read this article, I honestly thought it would be cool to be able to know everything. But then I realized it actually could get really annoying. People would have an answer for everything, it wouldn't give us the opportunity to teach new things. I don't think we really would have anything to work for as we would know everything. I wonder how that would effect jobs. Would everyone be qualified for every job? It could cause a lot of controversy. Everyone would want to be able to have the top jobs with the highest paying salary. Interesting article/post.
ReplyDelete-Matt Cayer
The thought of "downloading" information is frightening in my opinion I think the best part about being human is the experience of learning . however this is fascinating experiment that hope are never used in humans
ReplyDelete-fredjah desmezeaux
While I agree that the experience of learning can be very fulfilling, I do think that there can be many use-cases for this kind of technology. For instance, for people that cannot necessarily learn the same way that most do. For this reason, I will have to disagree with your notion that it should never be used on humans.
DeletePosted by Brian Lee (5)
In terms of just being able to "download" information into your brain seems really unlikely that this would happen in our lifetimes. The neuron is so small and we are still largely clueless to how exactly the brain works. Furthermore, the neuron is such a small site and it is almost impossible (as of now) to pinpoint exact neurons and inject that one single neuron with neuron transmitter. But we do have things like SSRI's and deep brain stimulation that work on large sections of the brain, so its hard to say that this is impossible, but it just seems unlikely that it will happen in our lifetimes.
ReplyDeleteLiz Clark
I agree that this all seems very science fiction and not really plausible in real world sense. Despite that, it does seem fascinating and exciting at least to explore how far this concept can go since it doesn't hurt to learn new things about the way the brain and body work.
DeletePosted by Brian Lee (5)
I can imagine this idea allowing for the integration of technology into biological systems in order to do things such as hold more memory. If it is true that info could be downloaded, we may possibly be in the era of the first sparks of the cyborg.
ReplyDelete-Isaac Collibee
If this eventually leads to cyborg humans, count me out! Just kidding, I think that it wouldn't be too bad of a future actually as it may mean that people will have abilities enhanced beyond what the human body is naturally capable of. We could see an era of what we thought to be immpossible for humans be made possible through these technologies.
DeletePosted by Brian Lee (5)
This is an interesting post that I have never really thought about. The idea of being able to upload information to your brain is something that I don’t really like the idea of. I think that learning things without gaining the experience to actually earn the knowledge would take away from some of the simplest beauty in life. Overcoming the struggles of attaining something is often what is more rewarding rather than what is actually gained. I think this would also lead to a lack of ability to problem solve and think uniquely. If everything you know was given to you, you would not understand the way to learn something that is not yet known.
ReplyDeletePosted by John Mariano
I find this post to be quite interesting and horrifying at the same time. While reading your post I immediately noticed parallels between the concept of a neural chip implant and the movie "The Matrix" where skills such as riding a motorcycle or flying a helicopter could be instantly uploaded into the protagonists minds through a code. While this is an intriguing concept, I am concerned about the ethical implications of such technology. Just because we have the ability to do such a thing does that mean that we should? Would this in some way take away from our human nature, and reduce the number of active lifelong learners in our society? Do you think it is possible that if this technology was applied on a large scale that some skills or knowledge could potentially mis-upload or contain "bugs" that effect our neural processing abilities?
ReplyDeletePosted by Kayla Rosiello
My primary thoughts on this are about the ways that we understand and interpret intelligence as a conscious species. A lot of times in science we generalize knowledge as the ability to learn and memorize topics and to develop critical think skills by learning to apply them to a problem. But what about all the other forms of intelligence we don't think about as much? Psychologist Howard Gardener has proposed 9 forms of intelligence. So how would AI within our bodies affect these types of intelligence that we typically don't typically measure. My other thoughts are on the ethics of this experimental design. What happens when certain developed countries get a hold of this technology before less technologically advanced countries? What are the implications this could have on global affairs given the current state of the environmental and global resource depletion?
ReplyDeletePosted by Lauren Mason
I love this subject and I am literally obsessed with extending my illustrious lifespan to witness more history with my own eyes. I don't think it would come into fruition though unless it could only be accessible by 1% of the population at most. I know this might be slightly off topic but transferring memory to another body is crucial to cloning to another body and continuing where a person left off. If the whole world had access to such tech, over population would proceed.
ReplyDeletePosted by King Wahib
This is a very interesting concept to think about. I work in a research lab working with zebra finches, and we specifically look at the finches neuronal responses of the finches during different play back experiments. Prior to the experiment we implant specific wires into the animals brain (while they are awake) in order to catch and monitor these brainwave signals. Birds are amazing model organisms to work with because they have such an advanced communication and learning system.
ReplyDelete-Elise Babula