Hawkins on Machine Intelligence

The intelligent machines Hawkins envisions will be neither human clones nor industrial robots. Their set of senses may differ considerably from human senses, but they'll extract appropriate patterns from the environment they confront. Their hierarchical memory system and modeling capabilities will work on the same principles as the cortex, and will require training analogous to human training. What would make such machines intelligent is the nature and level of predictive ability that emerges out of a hierarchical memory tuned to the specific challenges the machine confronts.

Intelligent computerized machines could thus range from simple single-application systems to very powerful superhuman intelligent systems, but they won't be humanlike. For example, computers aren't limited to human sensory/motor limitations. Computers can function much more rapidly and process much more information than a brain. Computers don't have to be encased within a single processing unit. Functional computers don't require decades to mature like a brain but rather can be endlessly replicated.

When I begin to type in the address of a website I frequently use, my computer inserts the rest of the address after I've only typed a few letters—and most of the time, its prediction is correct. The predictive technology that Hawkins envisions is thus beginning to emerge.

Hawkins and Blakeslee have developed a fascinating, imaginative, and informative book that will intrigue anyone who is interested in our intelligent brain and the currently smart technologies it develops.