Hi all,
AI enthusiast from Australia here. First got really into ML after covering it in CS undergrad back in 2005, where it was presented as more or less how the brain works (and I knew no better!). Have maintained an interest ever since, but always a little disillusioned with pace of innovation and the long term potential. Since graduating 10 years ago, I have worked in various software development/consulting/infrastructure/continuous delivery roles, and now as a data architect for an insurance company. I also run a local futurist meetup.
I’m quite late to the HTM party and came across it by chance earlier this year. I had read a book called “The Illusion of God’s Presence: The Biological Origins of Spiritual Longing”, and there was a chapter toward the end which discussed sensory perception and attention in a way I’d never encountered before; in a biologically constrained way but staying at a high enough level to be a useful enough model to understand the whole. I was so intrigued that I emailed the author and asked if he could recommend any further reading in that area, and he recommended I read On Intelligence.
Needless to say I devoured the book and felt a renewed interest in AI, and have since worked my way through HTM School which has been excellent (thanks @rhyolight!).
Since then I’ve been lurking on the forums and playing around with Nupic, but with a baby and toddler in the house I currently have limited spare time for meaningful code contributions. Regardless, the book and the papers on HTM have been great food for thought, and intuitively it feels like a very satisfying high level model for how the brain works.
Eager to see what Numenta produce in the coming years, and I hope to be able to contribute back at some point.