Google Maps Fruit Fly Brain, Trains it to Play Doom
Google has achieved a significant milestone in neuroscience by mapping the complete brain and central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly. This feat, accomplished in collaboration with HHMI Janelia Research Campus and the scientific community, enables researchers to explore and understand the intricate workings of the insect's brain.
The team used AI to combine millions of 2D images into 3D neural shapes, reconstructing a record-breaking 166,000+ neurons. This breakthrough is expected to accelerate our understanding of the brain and is considered a major milestone in neuroscience.
Just days after the announcement, software engineers Alex Wormuth and Jessica Paquette began training the fly-brain model to play classic video games, including Doom and Super Mario 64. Their efforts demonstrate the potential of this technology to simulate complex behaviors and interactions with the environment.