While we’re tempted to drop Terminator references, the shattering awful truth is this new breakthrough leaves us numb. According to a paper released by California Institute of Technology scientists last week, they’ve managed to create artificial intelligence using DNA strands. That’s the oversimplified version of course. Read on for the good stuff.
What they did was build simple neural networks composed of four neurons each that exhibited a capability to employ an input/output network. The hard brainy stuff comes in when the scientists used it for a ‘game.’ According to the source article:
Players dropped DNA strands representing an incomplete set of answers into a test tube. The network then provides the answer–the identity of the correct scientist–by fluorescent signals.
Since the heavy jargon involved with this exciting development is a bit too intimidating, further proof of the awesomeness involved states:
Caltech said this proof-of-concept technique for pattern recognition shows that the DNA network has the basic ability to think, but it is very slow, taking eight hours to identify the scientists in the game, and the DNA strands can only be used once.
Long story short, artificial intelligence can be achieved at the DNA level. Holy cow, Batman!
Holy cow indeed.
Source CNET