To Build Stronger AI, We Need To Better Understand The Human Brain

Researchers from Google and Harvard mapped one cubic millimeter of human brain tissue, recording 150 million synapses and using 1.4 petabytes of data over 10 years.

Global investment in AI infrastructure is orders of magnitude larger than funding for brain research, with major tech firms spending hundreds of billions annually and McKinsey projecting $6.7 trillion by 2030.

Astera launched a $600 million, 10-year brain research program, and the U.S. BRAIN Initiative has spent about $3 billion since 2014.

The article argues that advancing neuroscience, particularly mechanisms like continual learning and neuroplasticity, could meaningfully inform the development of stronger AI systems.