AskScience AMA Series: We're Jeff Hawkins and Subutai Ahmad, scientists at Numenta. We published a new framework for intelligence and cortical computation called "The Thousand Brains Theory of Intelligence", with significant implications for the future of AI and machine learning. Ask us anything!

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• AskScience AMA Series: We're Jeff Hawkins and Subutai Ahmad, scientists at Numenta. We published a new framework for intelligence and cortical computation called "The Thousand Brains Theory of Intelligence", with significant implications for the future of AI and machine learning. Ask us anything!
• Is there an anatomical difference between humans today and humans 200,000 years ago that makes modern day humans more intelligent, or is it all environment?
• Where has the medical community landed on the health impacts of dietary cholesterol?
• What is the smallest change in color humans can detect and what is the limiting factor to it being smaller?
• Bremsstrahlung and General Relativity: Does a charge resting on the surface of earth emit radiation?
• Does nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) increase TSNA & cancer risk after cessation of tobacco?
• Does playing video games have a positive effect on brain stimulation and development of cognitive skills?
• If you can refract light/heat in a mirror, why can’t you refract electricity?

AskScience AMA Series: We're Jeff Hawkins and Subutai Ahmad, scientists at Numenta. We published a new framework for intelligence and cortical computation called "The Thousand Brains Theory of Intelligence", with significant implications for the future of AI and machine learning. Ask us anything! Posted: 15 May 2019 04:00 AM PDT I am Jeff Hawkins, scientist and co-founder at Numenta, an independent research company focused on neocortical theory. I'm here with Subutai Ahmad, VP of Research at Numenta, as well as our Open Source Community Manager, Matt Taylor. We are on a mission to figure out how the brain works and enable machine intelligence technology based on brain principles. We've made significant progress in understanding the brain, and we believe our research offers opportunities to advance the state of AI and machine learning. Despite the fact that scientists have amassed an enormous amount of detailed factual knowledge about the brain, how it works is still a profound mystery. We recently published a paper titled A Framework for Intelligence and Cortical Function Based on Grid Cells in the Neocortex that lays out a theoretical framework for understanding what the neocortex does and how it does it. It is commonly believed that the brain recognizes objects by extracting sensory features in a series of processing steps, which is also how today's deep learning networks work. Our new theory suggests that instead of learning one big model of the world, the neocortex learns thousands of models that operate in parallel. We call this the Thousand Brains Theory of Intelligence. The Thousand Brains Theory is rich with novel ideas and concepts that can be applied to practical machine learning systems and provides a roadmap for building intelligent systems inspired by the brain. See our links below to resources where you can learn more. We're excited to talk with you about our work! Ask us anything about our theory, its impact on AI and machine learning, and more. Resources A Framework for Intelligence and Cortical Function Based on Grid Cells in the Neocortex Companion paper that describes the theory in non-scientific terms: Companion to A Framework for Intelligence and Cortical Function A paper that shows how sparse representations can be more robust to noise and interference than standard deep learning systems: How Can We Be So Dense? The Benefits of Using Highly Sparse Representations A screencast of Jeff Hawkins' presenting the theory at the Human Brain Project Open Day keynote: Jeff Hawkins Human Brain Project screencast An educational video that walks through some of the main ideas: HTM School Episode 15: Framework for Intelligence Two papers that include detailed network models about core components of the theory: A Theory of How Columns in the Neocortex Enable Learning the Structure of the World and Locations in the Neocortex: A Theory of Sensorimotor Object Recognition Using Cortical Grid Cells Foundational neuroscience paper that describes core theory for sequence memory and its relationship to the neocortex: Why Neurons Have Thousands of Synapses, A Theory of Sequence Memory in Neocortex We'll be available to answer questions at 1pm Pacific time (4 PM ET, 20 UT), ask us anything! submitted by /u/AskScienceModerator [link] [comments]

Is there an anatomical difference between humans today and humans 200,000 years ago that makes modern day humans more intelligent, or is it all environment? Posted: 14 May 2019 07:09 PM PDT submitted by /u/Aidanmartin3 [link] [comments]

Where has the medical community landed on the health impacts of dietary cholesterol? Posted: 14 May 2019 07:46 PM PDT So a few years ago I thought the consensus was shifting and I read a lot of studies showing dietary cholesterol didn't have a big impact on cardiovascular cholesterol, but then I vaguely recall a contradictory study that was supposed to be a sprawling meta-study that came out in like the last year, and they thought it did have an impact. So which is it now and why? Can I go enjoy a dozen eggs a week and big shrimp stir fries or should I generally stay away? Thanks! submitted by /u/Khenghis_Ghan [link] [comments]

What is the smallest change in color humans can detect and what is the limiting factor to it being smaller? Posted: 14 May 2019 11:45 AM PDT submitted by /u/TheWellFedBeggar [link] [comments]

Bremsstrahlung and General Relativity: Does a charge resting on the surface of earth emit radiation? Posted: 14 May 2019 08:43 AM PDT The Standard Model treats gravity as a force like any other while General Relativity models gravity not as a force, but as the curvature of spacetime. A consequence of the latter is, that free-falling objects are force-free and their acceleration, defined as the covariant derivative of their four-velocity, is zero. Furthermore, it follows that objects at rest relative to the surface of a planet are constantly being accelerated upwards by the ground, according to GR. Does this fact constitute an experiment so see which model is correct regarding their model of gravitation? If gravity is a force, free falling charged particles are being accelerated, and should therefore emit radiation. Conversely, charges at rest relative to the ground experience a net-force of 0N and should not emit radiation. If gravity is the curvature of spacetime, free-falling charges do not experience forces, and should therefore not emit radiation, while charges at rest relative to the ground are being accelerated upwards and should emit radiation. Am I missing something here? Can we detect Bremsstrahlung in either of the above cases? submitted by /u/KindheartedFireant [link] [comments]

Does nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) increase TSNA & cancer risk after cessation of tobacco? Posted: 14 May 2019 10:32 AM PDT I remember reading a couple studies that state that the inhalation of nicotine via e-cigs or vaping caused no significant increase in TSNA (cancer causing agents) whereas oral muscosa delivery methods saw increase. I use Nicotine lozenges almost everyday (dipper for 10 years) so I'm curious as to more info on TSNA and its harmful effects in general. Appreciate any insight! submitted by /u/neeners9223 [link] [comments]

Does playing video games have a positive effect on brain stimulation and development of cognitive skills? Posted: 14 May 2019 03:58 AM PDT submitted by /u/stefan8800 [link] [comments]

If you can refract light/heat in a mirror, why can’t you refract electricity? Posted: 14 May 2019 12:47 AM PDT submitted by /u/ImArabWallah [link] [comments]

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