#184 André van Schaik: Building An Artificial Brain With 100 Billion Neurons

Dive into the cutting-edge realm of neuromorphic computing with André van Schaik, a professor of electrical engineering at the Western Sydney University, and director of the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems, in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

In this episode of Eye on AI, André unveils the capabilities of DeepSouth, an innovative brain-scaled neuromorphic computing system designed to simulate up to 100 billion neurons in real time. Discover how DeepSouth leverages spiking neurons and synapses to process information more efficiently than traditional AI models, and how this technology could transform our understanding of brain computation and unlock new AI architectures.

The conversation explores the unique hardware setup of DeepSouth, utilizing FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) for a flexible, reconfigurable approach that mimics the asynchronous and spiking communication of biological neurons. 

André discusses the initial testing phase focusing on balanced excitation-inhibition networks, reflecting common neural activities in the human cortex, and outlines the system's potential to facilitate large-scale simulations previously unachievable due to computational constraints.

André's insights are invaluable for anyone interested in the intersection of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and computational technology.

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(00:00) Preview and Introduction

(02:19) André van Schaik's background

(03:39) What is neuromorphic computing?

(05:45) Differences between Von Neumann and neuromorphic architectures

(09:27) How DeepSouth simulates neurons

(12:20) What are FPGAs?

(16:42) Current status of DeepSouth

(19:04) Running neural network architectures on DeepSouth

(22:33) DeepSouth as an open source, commercial hardware

(24:40) Potential for cheaper model training

(28:35) Number of neurons and connections in DeepSouth

(30:01) Power consumption comparison

(34:21) Mimicking brain structures in DeepSouth

(35:42) André van Schaik's background in neuroscience

(39:12) Goals of understanding brain activity vs solving problems

(41:44) Interest from AI research community

(43:03) Summary of DeepSouth's goals