How brain works – Tatyana Chernigovskaya

It is hardly possible to imagine something more interesting and complex than human brain. Is it our instrument for the interaction with environment, or is it a natural neurocomputer that creates reality?

That is the question which Tatyana Chernigovskaya, a Soviet and Russian scientist in the field of neuroscience, psycholinguistics and theory of mind, a Honored Worker of Science (2010), tries to answer in this short 13 minutes talk at TED conference in Moscow, in March 2011:

The whole universe in a human brain | Tatiana Chernigovskaya | TEDxVorobyovy-Gory

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There are significant efforts in modern science to reveal the secrets of brain. Great financial resources are invested into research, and some results have been achieved at the benefit of all mankind. One of the discoveries was that brain do work just as an electric device – which made possible a Cochlear implant, an electronic medical device that does the work of damaged parts of the inner ear (cochlea) to provide sound signals to the brain.

And then, you can find out if the difference between Male and Female brains is a myth or not. It takes only 3 minutes:

TATYANA CHERNIGOVSKAYA on the Difference between Male and Female Brains (2016)

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Of course, most interesting question would be a misuse of neuroscience and brain research. Finding out how the brain works also means finding ways how to trick the brain in order to achieve some evil purpose. And also, where can lead us our search for the artificial intelligence:

I definitely am an alarmist by nature, and I tend to look to the future with concern. Among other things, I attend conferences on artificial intelligence and its prospects, where such issues are debated at length. There’s a lot of food for thought there. Their deliberations may seem purely theoretical, but it’s all very serious. The moment artificial intelligence develops its own personality… I am afraid our days will be numbered. Just think about it. It’s no longer a mere instrument, but a person, with its own ego. It will have its own intentions and its own plans… and we won’t be part of those plans. It should be able to get rid of us in no time – it can use biotechnologies, to name just one. That’s why I believe we have reasons to be alarmed. And I would never be so reckless as to entrust all of my knowledge and all of my skills to a computer that may break down on me for good one day. That would leave me empty-handed and helpless. And I wouldn’t want that.
— Dr. Tatyana Chernigovskaya

Those questions and answers you can here in this extremely interesting interview with Dr. Tatyana Chernigovskaya: