Are Insect Brains the Secret to Great AI? | Frances S. Chance | TED

Insect Models

Frances Chance highlights the remarkable capabilities of insects, which serve as models for cognitive computing. She explains that while human brains are complex with 86 billion neurons, insect brains offer a simpler yet effective alternative for study. For instance, African dung beetles excel at rolling large balls in straight lines, Sahara desert ants are navigation specialists, and dragonflies are exceptional hunters 1. These insects are so adept at their tasks that neuroscientists study them to understand how animal nervous systems solve specific problems.

These insects are so good at their specialties that neuroscientists such as myself study them as model systems to understand how animal nervous systems solve particular problems.

--- Frances Chance

Chance aims to bring these biological solutions to computers, leveraging the best that biology has to offer 1.

   

Dragonfly Efficiency

Dragonflies, with their million-neuron brains, offer insights into efficient neural computations. Frances Chance explains that dragonflies perform coordinate transformations to intercept prey, a process involving rapid calculations 2. Their response time is about 50 milliseconds, allowing them to predict prey movement with minimal computational steps. This efficiency is achieved through a small neural circuit, which Chance has modeled to understand these transformations 3.

In the model, dragonflies do coordinate transformations in only one computational step, one layer of neurons.

--- Frances Chance

By studying these processes, researchers aim to replicate such efficiency in AI, potentially leading to advanced computing models that mimic biological brains 3.

   

Navigation Tech

Insects like dung beetles and ants inspire innovations in navigation technology. Frances Chance suggests that these insects could lead to the development of low-energy, efficient computing models 4. For example, a navigation device inspired by these insects might require significantly less power than current GPS technology.

Imagine if all brain inspired computers had the same extremely low power requirements.

--- Frances Chance

Such advancements could revolutionize the way we understand and create brain-inspired computers, potentially reducing the energy consumption of devices like smartphones and smartwatches 4.