No word yet on possible funding for philosophers:
The Obama administration is planning a decade-long scientific effort to
examine the workings of the human brain and build a comprehensive map of
its activity, seeking to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for .The project, which the administration has been looking to unveil as
early as March, will include federal agencies, private foundations and
teams of neuroscientists and nanoscientists in a concerted effort to
advance the knowledge of the brain’s billions of neurons and gain
greater insights into perception, actions and, ultimately,
consciousness.Scientists with the highest hopes for the project also see it as a way
to develop the technology essential to understanding diseases like and , as well as to find new therapies for a variety of mental illnesses.Moreover, the project holds the potential of paving the way for advances in artificial intelligence.
The project, which could ultimately cost billions of dollars, is
expected to be part of the president’s budget proposal next month. And,
four scientists and representatives of research institutions said they
had participated in planning for what is being called the Brain Activity
Map project.