How AI models are being repurposed as tools to study the human brain
By
Mariya Toneva
Summary
The article discusses how pretrained AI models, originally designed as engineering tools for practical tasks like predicting text, are increasingly being used by neuroscientists as computational models of human cognitive functions. Despite their effectiveness at mimicking human behavior and brain activity, these models were not built to reflect brain anatomy or biological constraints. The author argues that treating these AI systems as "model organisms" — which can be perturbed, studied, and evolved — could bridge the gap between AI and neuroscience, helping researchers better understand the brain.
Source
bskyHow AI models are being repurposed as tools to study the human brainthetransmitter.orgKey quotes
· 4 pulledResearchers are increasingly using such pretrained AI models as computational models of human cognitive functions.
These models were not built to explain the brain. They were designed as engineering tools, trained to solve practical problems such as predicting the next word in a sentence.
They do not reflect brain anatomy, biological constraints or our...
Treating them as model organisms that we can perturb and evolve will move us closer to that goal.
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