Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Ashton Kutcher have found a common point of interest in creating an artificial brain through a newly floated artificial intelligence company, Vicarious FPC.
Three well-known geniuses, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Ashton Kutcher from different genres of social media, automobile and entertainment, respectively, have come together to make one of the biggest transformation in the history of technical science. According to a report from Wall Street Journal, Friday, the trio has invested $40 million in a secretive artificial-intelligence company, Vicarious FPC. This new company will utilize the resources in the making of an artificial brain that replicates the functions of a human brain.
The San Francisco-based startup joins other tech companies who have invested deep into artificial intelligence. Google, for instance, spent $400 million to acquire an AI focused company, Deep Mind, and IBM has long explored the possibility of building a human-like brain using technology. The future goal of these companies is to significantly boost the ability of the machines to recognize images and their textures or process natural language.
Vicarious has a bigger picture in mind with the main focus on building a replica of a part of the brain called neocortex, which is responsible for high-level cognitive functions like sight, motion, language and math, WSJ reports.
"Companies that pioneer a fundamental technological breakthrough often come to define entire industries," Formation 8 founder Joe Lonsdale, who also co-founded data-mining software maker Palantir Technologies, told the Journal. "I believe Vicarious has the potential to become one of these companies." Formation 8 led the latest round of funding for Vicarious, which till date has raised $60 million from other investors including Good Ventures, Founders Fund, Felicis Ventures and Open Field Capital, Silicon Valley Business Journal reports.
While Musk and Kutcher remained mum about their new investments, Facebook spokesman said Zuckerberg's investment comes from his personal accounts and is not associated with Facebook in any way.
