What is memory? When we really look at it directly, our memories are simply connections between our neurons. This is the same for typical folks and those of us with SDAM, though based on the literature we seem to have some issues with our autobiographical tuned connections. It is really interesting to me that autobiographical memories seem specifically targeted in us, while our semantic memory seems mostly intact. That is definitely an area of research I’m personally interested in learning more about, and the specifics of how neural connections in SDAM differ from the norm.
Separately from humans, what about the connections in artificial brains? New AI models like Meta’s Llama, Open AI’s o1, and Claude 3.5 Sonnet have began to grasp near human level reasoning in certain tasks (though not yet overall). These algorithms store and recall information in a network of patterns, trained on the innumerable data of the internet. But are any of these “memories”? What is the line we draw between this and our experiences? If an advanced future model contained connections between simulated neurons, would we consider them storing their own versions of memories? Would they experience these memories like we do, simply recall them, or have their own unique experience entirely?
What do you think, what is the essence behind memory?
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