Microsoft ties up with Swiss startup to develop AI that can simulate the human brain

In a nutshell: Microsoft has partnered with Swiss AI startup Inait to develop an AI model that simulates the reasoning ability of the mammalian brain. The two companies will first market the technology to the finance and robotics sectors before expanding to other industries.

The AI behind the new platform builds on two decades of neuroscience research and features a “brain programming language” capable of learning from experience and understanding cause and effect. It also incorporates adaptive general intelligence, which could overcome the limitations of current AI systems. Inait claims these capabilities will drive a paradigm shift in the AI industry.

The technology has many paractical applications. In the financial sector, the project will aim to deliver advanced trading algorithms, risk management tools, and personalized financial advice to customers. In robotics, the project focues on developing more intelligent robots that can adapt to complex work environments and situations in industrial settings. The project will utilize the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to expedite the gloabl deployment of the new technology.

Inait is a relative newcomer in the AI industry, but its leadership has an impressive pedigree. The Financial Times notes that co-founder Henry Markram spent 20 years developing biologically accurate digital replicas of mammalian brains. That project, which produced 18 million lines of code, is now the foundation for Inait’s brain simulation model.

Although the original Swiss project focused primarily on the mouse brain, Markram believes his team can tweak the research to replicate other mammalian brains, including humans. He claims brain simulation models are generally more energy-efficient than current deep reinforcement models and learn much faster.

Markram founded the nonprofit Open Brain Institute to provide researchers access to the Swiss project’s simulation technology. However, while some aspects of the research are freely accessible, others require a subscription. Still, Markram believes the study could help scientists better understand complex and incurable neurological conditions like autism.