About a week ago the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US became the first buyer of IBM Research’s TrueNorth ‘brain chip’, an invention which could bring new artificial intelligence functions to mobile devices and create further applications for IBM’s Watson engine. TrueNorth is a neurosynaptic or neuromophic computer chip – one which mimics human neuron architectures. Its neural network design can infer complex cognitive tasks, such as pattern recognition and integrated sensory processing, more easily than regular CPUs. The Lawrence Livermore deal involves a configuration which is the equivalent of 16m neurons and 4bn synapses, but only consumes the energy equivalent of a tablet – a mere 2.5 watts of power. It is initially working on a feasibility study…