Reverse Engineering of the Brain

Today in class we discussed the implications of reverse engineering of the brain. Harnessing the complexity of the brain could allow machines to learn and think autonomously. EngineeringChallenges.org wrote an article titled "Reverse Engineer The Brain", which explains how the brain works:

"Nerve cells communicate by firing electrical pulses that release small molecules called neurotransmitters, chemical messengers that hop from one nerve cell to a neighbor, inducing the neighbor to fire a signal of its own (or, in some cases, inhibiting the neighbor from sending signals). Because each nerve cell receives messages from tens of thousands of others, and circuits of nerve cells link up in complex networks, it is extremely difficult to completely trace the signaling pathways. Furthermore, the code itself is complex — nerve cells fire at different rates, depending on the sum of incoming messages. Sometimes the signaling is generated in rapid-fire bursts; sometimes it is more leisurely. And much of mental function seems based on the firing of multiple nerve cells around the brain in synchrony. Teasing out and analyzing all the complexities of nerve cell signals, their dynamics, pathways, and feedback loops, presents a major challenge."

Dr. Henry Markram is the leader of The Blue Brain project. His documentary video, shown here, predicts that we will have successfully reverse engineered the brain by 2020. What this means is that we could have machines that can actually think and learn within just ten years. This amount of change will require everyone to adapt dramatically, and the closer it seems we get to singularity.

Another article I found published by the IEEE from 2008 predicts that we'll only have the brain of a fruit-fly mapped in 10 years. How quickly do you think it will take for us to reach this technology? How will it be used and what will become of it?