This is not a fly uploaded to a computer
TL;DR
San Francisco-based Eon Systems released a video of an alleged 'whole-brain fly emulation' that went viral on X, amplified by AI hype accounts.
Key Points
- Co-founder Alexander Wissner-Gross called it the 'world's first embodiment of a whole-brain emulation that produces multiple behaviors'.
- The company claims it will build a full digital emulation of a mouse brain within two years.
- Most people sharing the clip seemed unaware of what they were actually watching or whether the scientific claims hold up.
Nauti's Take
This is not a fly uploaded to a computer, at least not in the sense the hype machine implies. 'Whole-brain emulation' sounds like The Matrix but likely refers to something far more modest here.
Eon Systems is running a classic playbook: impressive-looking clip, world-historic quote, aggressive timeline – and the retweets take care of the rest. The fact that nobody independently verified the demo is irrelevant to the algorithm.
Anyone buying the two-year mouse-brain promise should have a chat with actual computational neuroscientists first.
Sources