U.S. computer giant IBM announced on Thursday that it has developed prototypes of computer chips that mimic the way the human brain works, a news report said.
The Armonk, New York-based company known as "Big Blue," said the experimental "cognitive computing chips" could eventually lead to machines that "emulate the brain's abilities for perception, action and cognition," according to the AFP news agency.
"These chips are another significant step in the evolution of computers from calculators to learning systems, signaling the beginning of a new generation of computers," Dharmendra Modha, project leader for IBM Research, was quoted as saying.
"Future applications of computing will increasingly demand functionality that is not efficiently delivered by the traditional architecture."
IBM said cognitive computers, like the human brain, would "learn through experiences, find correlations, create hypotheses, and remember ― and learn from ― the outcomes," AFP said.
According to IBM, which has been conducting artificial intelligence research since 1956, the chips could lead to computers able to ingest complex, real-time information through multiple sensors and translate it into action, it said.
For example, a cognitive computing system monitoring the world's water supply could issue tsunami warnings using a network of sensors that monitor inputs such as temperature, pressure, wave height and acoustics.