An artificial general intelligence to rival human intelligence remains in the realms of science fiction. However, scientists have made progress in mimicking the intricacies of biology by recreating the most basic intelligence features of a sea slug.
A study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, recounts how these intelligence features can be mimicked in a material in a step towards building better hardware for AI applications.
“Through studying sea slugs, neuroscientists discovered the hallmarks of intelligence that are fundamental to any organism’s survival,” said Professor Shriram Ramanathan, a materials engineering expert at Purdue University. “We want to take advantage of that mature intelligence in animals to accelerate the development of AI.”
Two significant signs of intelligence neuroscientists have identified in sea slugs are habituation and sensitisation. Habituation means getting used to a stimulus over time, such...