Our Brains Can Still Outsmart AI Using One Clever Trick
ScienceAlert••health
Key Points:
- A Princeton University-led study using rhesus macaques reveals that the brain's ability to transfer skills across tasks relies on reusing neural "cognitive Lego" blocks—distinct groups of neurons that can be repurposed and recombined for new tasks.
- These cognitive blocks are primarily located in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with higher cognition, and their activity decreases when not needed, allowing the brain to focus efficiently on current tasks.
- Unlike AI models that suffer from "catastrophic forgetting" and struggle with consecutive learning, the brain's modular organization enables flexible adaptation to novel challenges by sequentially performing task components.
- The findings provide insight into how humans and primates apply existing knowledge to unfamiliar tasks and suggest potential applications in
