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Review
. 2023 Mar 22;14(1):1597.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37180-x.

Catalyzing next-generation Artificial Intelligence through NeuroAI

Affiliations
Review

Catalyzing next-generation Artificial Intelligence through NeuroAI

Anthony Zador et al. Nat Commun. .

Abstract

Neuroscience has long been an essential driver of progress in artificial intelligence (AI). We propose that to accelerate progress in AI, we must invest in fundamental research in NeuroAI. A core component of this is the embodied Turing test, which challenges AI animal models to interact with the sensorimotor world at skill levels akin to their living counterparts. The embodied Turing test shifts the focus from those capabilities like game playing and language that are especially well-developed or uniquely human to those capabilities - inherited from over 500 million years of evolution - that are shared with all animals. Building models that can pass the embodied Turing test will provide a roadmap for the next generation of AI.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare their engagements with the following relevant for-profit entities—A.Z.: Cajal Neuroscience; S.E.: Herophilus; R.B.: Google DeepMind; B.Ö.: Blackbird Neuroscience; K.B.: Femtosense Inc., Radical Semiconductor, Neurovigil; C.C.: Google DeepMind; S.G.: Meta; J.H.: Numenta; K.K.: Paradromics; T.L.: Google DeepMind; A.M.: Google DeepMind, Kernel; D.S.: Meta; A.T.: Vathes Inc., Upload AI LLC, BioAvatar LLC. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Turing tests: comparisons between the performance of AI systems and their living counterparts.
Left: The original Turing test as proposed by Alan Turing. If a human tester cannot determine whether their interlocutor is an AI system or another human, the AI passes the test. Modern large language models have made substantial progress towards passing this test. Right: The embodied Turing test. An AI animal model—whether robotic or in simulation—passes the test if its behavior is indistinguishable from that of its living counterpart. No AI systems are close to passing this test. Here, an artificial beaver is tested on the species-specific behavior of dam construction.

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