The role of computer designers in reverse-engineering the brain

ABSTRACT

A truly grand challenge for science in general, and for computer architects and designers in particular, is to understand the mammalian brain's computing paradigm and then construct a computing device that embodies that paradigm. Although computer designers have a potential role to play in solving this grand challenge, it is up to us to define that role. From a computer designer's perspective, I will illustrate the current understanding of the brain's computational paradigm by describing several examples from experimental neuroscience. I will suggest an architecture hierarchy and discuss issues that arise when translating from the complex, asynchronous, electro-chemical device, which is the brain, to a synchronous digital device capable of performing computation in a similar manner. This translation presents many difficult challenges that will require science-inspired insight and discovery, added to the challenges of engineering a very large, unconventional digital system. But, as difficult as they may be, these challenges provide almost unlimited opportunities for forward-looking, risk-taking computer architects and designers.

Index Terms

• Computing methodologies

  • Machine learning

    • Machine learning approaches

      • Neural networks

• Hardware

  • Emerging technologies

    • Circuit substrates

      • Cellular neural networks

• Theory of computation

  • Theory and algorithms for application domains

    • Machine learning theory