One day, this new technology may become the backbone of modern artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can become part of our daily life - from transportation to medicine.
Researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) explain that, like a biological brain, a switch "learns" by processing the electrical signals it receives and generating appropriate output signals.
The artificial synapse is shaped like a metal cylinder 10 micrometers high. It is designed to be able to learn from experience or gain knowledge from the environment.
As is often the case in AI, a synthetic switch performs even better than its biological counterpart, using far less energy than our brains, and generating signals much faster than human neurons - 1 billion times per second. For comparison, our synapses emit pulses about 50 times per second. This has a significant effect on the processing speed, since the higher the frequency of the firing and receiving of electrical signals, the stronger the connection between synapses becomes.
The switch is designed to enhance the ability of so-called "neuromorphic computers" so that it will one day be used in AI to improve perception and decision-making by smart devices such as autonomous cars and cancer diagnostic systems.
The AI as a driver will eventually face the moral dilemma of prioritizing the safety of its passengers or others who might be involved in a collision. Artificial brains equipped with such switches could be better at developing solutions to these kinds of ethical puzzles.
Such a switch could also help us develop more accurate AI that diagnoses both heart disease and lung cancer. Doctors at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK have already successfully tested an artificial brain that improves doctors' ability to detect life-threatening cardiovascular conditions, and another startup has suggested that its AI system could diagnose up to four thousand lung cancers a year earlier than doctors.
Our brains simultaneously process information and store memory in synapses, and computers perform both tasks separately.
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But a new artificial synapse solves this problem by allowing computers to mimic the human brain. Despite the fact that it is still being tested, the researchers are confident that one day they will be able to create a new generation of artificial brains that can improve the modern capabilities of artificial intelligence systems.
The article was published in the journal Science Advances.
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