The Crypto Billionaire Betting $1 Billion To Build AI Based On The Human Brain
Jed McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple and Stellar, is investing $1 billion of his $3.9 billion cryptocurrency fortune to develop AI systems based on the human brain, aiming for artificial general intelligence (AGI). His nonprofit, Astera Institute, is spearheading this effort, which diverges from the mainstream focus on transformer models.
The plan involves neuroscientists in Emeryville fitting mice with brain-computer interfaces to record neural activity during basic tasks like navigating a maze. The goal is to create a library of mouse brain states that map to specific perceptions and actions, then translate these findings into code for a new type of AI system. These experiments will extend to monkeys and potentially humans. The ambition is not just to read minds, but to "write" them, potentially uploading knowledge or specific images into thoughts.
