ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: What we can learn from insects in brain research
There aren't many topics where fascination and head shaking come as close as with “artificial intelligence.” Computers or robots that not only solve complicated tasks independently, but also learn, improve and support each other? Imagination alone shakes up the status of the “coronation of creation,” which we humans generally admit to ourselves and our brains. It's no wonder that many dismiss this research as useless.
When computer scientists set out to find new ways to increase the performance of their computers in the nineties, they were guided by the swarm intelligence of ants: As a single animal capable of barely anything that would be associated with intelligence, they achieve almost unbelievable things among the people. However, it is precisely the swarm intelligence of ants or bees that inspires brain researchers today. So wasn't everything so useless after all?
In “Riders on a Swarm” The Economist reports about happy ants, dancing bees and what we can learn from them about the function of our brain.