Intelligence science studies the essence and realization technology of intelligence, which is a frontier interdisciplinary subject created by brain science, cognitive science and artificial intelligence. Brain science studies the mechanism of natural intelligence from the molecular level, cell level and behavior level, establishes brain model, and reveals the essence of human brain. Cognitive science is the science that studies human perception, learning, memory, thinking, consciousness and other brain mental activity process. Artificial intelligence research uses artificial methods and technology to imitate, extend and expand human intelligence, and realize machine intelligence. Intelligence science should not only carry out functional simulation, but also study and explore new concepts, theories and methods of intelligence from the mechanism. Intelligence research should not only use reasoning, top-down, but also through learning, from the bottom to the top. Intelligence science studies the intelligent properties and behaviors of open systems by using the method of comprehensive integration.
Intelligence science is the quintessence of life science and the core of information science and technology. The forefront and commanding point of modern science and technology involve the deep mystery of natural science and touch on the basic proposition of philosophy. Therefore, once a breakthrough is made in intelligence science, it will have a profound and huge impact on the national economy, social progress and national security. At present, intelligence science is in the transformation period of methodology, the climax of theoretical innovation and the pioneering period of large-scale application, full of original opportunities.
The rise and development of intelligence science indicates that the research on human centered cognition and intelligent activities has entered a new stage. The research of intelligence science will make human self-understanding and self-control, and improve human's knowledge and intelligence to an unprecedented height. The phenomenon of life is complex, many problems have not been well explained, and the content that can be learned from it is also a large number of aspects. How to extract the most important and key problems and corresponding technologies from them is a long-term goal pursued by many scientists. In order to solve many difficulties faced by human beings in the 21st century, such as the great demand for energy, the pollution of environment, the exhaustion of resources and the expansion of population, it is not enough to rely on the existing scientific achievements alone. We must learn from biology and find a new way to develop science and technology. The research of intelligence science will establish the theoretical basis for the intelligent revolution, knowledge revolution and information revolution, and provide new concepts, new ideas and new ways for the development of intelligent systems.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, great attention has been paid to intelligence science and its related disciplines, such as brain science, neuroscience, cognitive science and artificial intelligence. On January 28, 2013, the European Union launched its flagship human brain project. On April 2, 2013, the United States launched the brain program. In September 2014, Japanese scientists announced the Brain/MINDS (Brain Mapping by Integrated Neurotechnologies for Disease Studies) program. On July 8, 2017, China State Council officially released the development plan for the new generation of artificial intelligence. On March 22, 2018, China established Beijing brain science and brain like research center. On August 7, 2018, Shanghai brain science and brain like research center was established. Countries all over the world are fighting for the commanding heights of high technology, trying to hold the leading position in the new round of international scientific and technological competition.
The human brain is the most complicated system in the known universe. It is formed by the huge quantity of neurons and synapses. The neurons and synapses both are highly complicated, highly multifarious and highly complete electronic-chemical apparatus. The beauty of thinking may just contain in the complexity of the brain. The research in neural science has revealed that a simple nervous may have the amazing complexity, which reflects that its function, evolution history, structure and encoding scheme will work on any future disciplines of the brain complexity.
Brain science is a big science system consisting of various brain-researching disciplines. It studies the structure and functions of the brain, the relations between the brain and human behavior and thinking. Brain science also explores brain evolution, its biological components,neural networks and its corresponding mechanisms. Human’s recognition on brains takes a long time from the superficial to the deep. This history can be divided into three phases according to the research levels.
The first phase may be called precursor period. In this period, humans gradually realize that the brain is the organ for thinking and have a superficial understanding of its structures. During the 5th to 7th century BC, people inChinahad realized the association between brain and thinking.
Brain has been deeply studied in Ancient Greece. Pythagoras and Plato both hold that the brain produces senses and wisdom. Democritus thought that the brainproduces atoms, which in turn produces soul activities. Hippocrates affirmed that the brain was the thinking organ with an anatomy approach. Erasistratus from the Alexander school studied structures of brains using the same approach. Herophilus distinguished cerebellums and cortexes. Galen, an ancient Greek doctor, further discovered internal structures of brains, such as corpus callosum, pineal gland, and put forward the theory that the left brain is responsible for feeling and the right brain for movement.
The second phase is the mechanical period. The major progresses were the establishments of reflexology and positioning theories. Middle Age witnessed little progress in researches on anatomical brain. With the development of modern sciences, researches on brain developed rapidly. In the 18th century, Hubble, a Swiss physiologist, found that brains transmit stimulates using nerve. René Descartes put forward the brain's reflexology theory and the dualism theory in which spirit and brains interacted with each other. Russian scholar N. M. Pavlov perfected the brain’s reflexology theory. In the 19th century, Austrian physician F. J. Gall established the positioning theory initially, which later formed as cranioscopy science. French doctor Paul Broca discovered the Broca's area by dissecting the brains of aphasia patients, which marked as the science foundation of positioning theory. The study of brain in this period has some traits of Mechanism.
The third phase is the modern period. In this period, the brain was studied from multi-levels, multi-layers and multi-views, including not only global study but also partial study, not only systematical study but also study on the Neurons, cell and molecular level, not only the study on physical, chemical, psychological but also comprehensive research.
Brain Science explores the essence of brain, research on the principle and model of natural intelligence in molecular, cell and behavior level.
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