Scientists have made a pocket-sized AI brain, thanks to the help of monkey neurons. Researchers, using data from macaque monkeys, were able to shrink an AI vision model to a tiny fraction of its original size. This achievement hints at how living brains can do so much with so little power, as a human brain consumes less power than a light bulb, while artificial intelligence systems guzzle electricity to do the same tasks. The model, which mimics a part of the brain's visual system, started with 60 million variables but was compressed into a version that performed nearly as well using just 10,000 variables. This compact model also appears to work more like a living brain, which could help scientists study what goes wrong in diseases like Alzheimer's. If the AI model truly replicates strategies found in nature, it could help scientists understand the inner workings of human brains. Compact, biology-inspired models of the brain could also lead to more powerful and more humanlike artificial intelligence. The study is part of an effort to understand the human visual system, which takes in bits of light and transforms them into something we recognize, like grandma or the Grand Canyon. The specialized nature of the V4 neurons may help explain how human and other primate brains are able to make sense of what they see without relying on massive computing power. This could have implications for artificial intelligence, as it may be able to perform as well as a human brain with less complex models and less powerful computers.
