For all their sophistication, computers still can't compete with
nature's gift—a brain that sorts objects quickly and accurately
enough so that people and primates can interpret what they see
as it happens. Despite decades of development, computer vision
systems still get bogged down by the massive amounts of data
necessary just to identify the most basic images. Throw that
same image into a different setting or change the lighting and
artificial intelligence is even less of a match for good old
gray matter. These shortcomings become more pressing as demand
grows for security systems that can recognize a known
terrorist's face in a crowded airport and car safety mechanisms
such as a sensor that can hit the brakes when it detects a
pedestrian or another vehicle in the car's path. Seeking the way
forward, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers are
looking to advances in neuroscience for ways to improve
artificial intelligence, and vice versa. The school's leading
minds in both neural and computer sci