Simulating the Human Brain: First research center to use a supercomputer to simulate the...

...human brain for at least ten seconds.  [This challenge is doable with current technology.  It is just a matter of money and will.  The necessary supercomputer will likely require a nuclear power plant to power it and a river to cool it.]


Future Challenges: First research center to continuously simulate the human brain for one:

1) Minute.

2) Hour.

3) Day.

4) Week.

5) Month (31 days).

6) Year (365 days).

First orbiting computer to simulate the human brain:

7) For at least five seconds.  [Due to the powering and cooling requirements alone for this kind of research, outer space will likely be an ideal environment for it.  In outer space, an orbiting solar power station can provide all the power the computer will need (if you need more power, just add another solar panel or mirror) and, even more importantly, the cold of outer space can easily cool the computer.  In outer space, the darkness of outer space is 2.72 Kelvin (-454.5 Fahrenheit, -270.28 Celsius).  This means the shade provided by such an orbiting computer's solar panels can be what cools the computer at the same time.]

8) Continuously.  [As the Sun continuously radiates solar radiation and the darkness of space is always super cold, having a computer continuously simulate the human brain in outer space might actually be easier than for short periods of time.  For to operate such a computer for anything but extremely short periods of time would require massive batteries.  The transporting of these batteries would probably be just as costly as transporting up solar panels that would continuously produce the same amount in electricity.  Thus this challenge might be achieved at the same time as Future Challenge #7.

Because of the powering and cooling demands of such a computer, space could very likely be the ideal environment for the first truly sentient super-smart artificial intelligence.  Thus there is a distinct possibility that all future super-smart AIs will exist in outer space and none on Earth.  If this proves to be the case, these super-smart AIs will want to dominate (and exterminate) us humans as much as we would want to go sunbathing at the South Pole.  Thus there might become a mutually-beneficial trade situation between us humans and orbiting AIs.  We provide them more and better solar panels, computer hardware, and maintenance robots and they provide us new inventions, do our accounting, and other intellectual products and services.]

Discussion:
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