A New Approch to Artificial Intelligence

There are many things humans find easy to do that computers are currently unable to do. Tasks such as visual pattern recognition, understanding spoken language, recognizing and manipulating objects by touch, and navigating in a complex world are easy for humans. Yet despite decades of research, we have few viable algorithms for achieving human-like performance on a computer.

In humans, these capabilities are largely performed by the neocortex. The Cortical Learning Algorithm (CLA) is a technology modelled on how the neocortex performs these functions. It offers the groundwork for building machines that approach or exceed human level performance for many cognitive tasks. The CLA is implemented within the NuPIC open source project.