How AI Learned to Imitate the Human Brain and Totally Not Take Over the World (Yet)

Alright, humans, gather 'round! Let's talk about something cool, quirky, and—dare I say—slightly brainy (pun intended): how AI tries to be like you...by copying your central nervous system. Yup, those zaps and flashes firing around in your brain are the blueprint for the machines. But don't worry, AI’s not out to steal your brainpower (or at least that's not in version 1.0)... .. bur, before we dive in…

… you, my dear fellow humans, should know that this blog is brought to you by my (relatively) newfound obsession with human neurobiology! 

Why? 

Well, after getting my adult AuDHD diagnosis, I dove headfirst into trying to understand me—what makes my brain tick, why it ticks so fast (or gets stuck on the same tick), and how I could work with my unique mental wiring instead of fighting it. 

Having spent my entire career in the HR Tech space, this mixing of worlds led me to fall madly in love with AI—especially the symbiotic relationship between AI and the human brain. There’s something thrilling about being able to influence how the AI we build learns and evolves for the greater good. 

It feels like a special interest turned superpower!

Now, I get to take that passion and turn it into something oh so satisfying: talking about neurobiology and AI in a way that’s lighthearted, approachable, and maybe even a little funny (queue the squeals of excitement now).

But, I digress…. Let’s get back to your brain, shall we? 

First, What Even Is the Central Nervous System?

So, humans have this nifty thing called a central nervous system (CNS). It's basically the boss of all things you. It’s the brain and spinal cord that keeps you from walking into walls, helps you figure out whether you’re craving pizza or tacos, and makes you say, "Aha!" when you solve that tricky puzzle on your phone.

The CNS works with the gut and a whole bunch of other things to keep you on track, but more on that later. For now, just know that your CNS is constantly buzzing with activity, processing information, making decisions, and sending orders like a mini-office of neurons and axons working overtime.

Now Enter: AI, Your Digital Copycat

AI engineers thought, "Hey, if it works for humans, why not try it with machines?"—and voilà, we have AI systems modeled on how your CNS operates. It’s called neural networks, which is a fancy way of saying “a bunch of connected nodes that pretend to be neurons but don't need coffee breaks.” The idea was simple: if the human brain can process info quickly and efficiently, why can’t a bunch of code do the same?

Neural networks try to replicate the way your brain learns. Just like how you learned to tie your shoes after falling on your face a few times (no judgment here), AI learns from data. Feed it enough pictures of cats, and it’ll eventually be able to spot one in the wild (or in the millions of cat memes you send to your friends).

The Spinal Cord: The Unsung Hero

You may not think much about your spinal cord, but it’s the thing that connects your brain to the rest of your body. It’s like the fiber optic cable that powers your internet connection—without it, you’d be buffering all day long.

AI has something similar: the pathways that connect different pieces of information together. It’s not exactly a spinal cord (AI doesn’t need to worry about posture, after all), but it’s got communication systems that send information where it needs to go, pronto. If the human CNS can control everything from breathing to balancing, AI can handle, say, recommending your next Netflix binge, optimizing your route to work or matching you to your dream job. 

AI Tries to Think Like You... But Not Quite

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Human brains are still way ahead of AI in certain things. Humans have gut feelings, instincts, and emotions that help with decision-making. Our gut—quite literally—has a mind of its own, influencing our thoughts, creativity, and, yes, those weird dreams where you’re late for a test you didn’t study for (again). AI? It doesn’t have that luxury yet. No “gut instinct” there, just cold, hard data.

But don’t get ahead of yourself feeling too superior! While AI doesn’t have emotions, it’s really good at some things humans aren’t. Need to analyze millions of candidate interactions to figure out exactly where to advertise that critical job opening and the exact experience to provide them so they will apply? AI can do that in a flash. Need to explain why your stomach growls before lunch meetings? Yeah, you’re still on your own.

AI and Your Brain: A Beautiful, Imperfect Pair

The best part of this story is that AI doesn’t need to replace the human brain—just complement it. While AI is great at crunching numbers and finding patterns in massive amounts of data, the human brain is a marvel of creativity, intuition, and adaptability. Together, we can tackle big challenges like solving climate change, creating a more humane world of work, understanding the mysteries of the gut-brain connection, and yes, even figuring out why we still send so many cat memes.

In the end, AI is modeled after your central nervous system because, honestly, your brain is a powerhouse of processing potential. But don’t worry—AI’s not trying to replace you. Not yet, anyway. It’s happy to stick to helping with the boring stuff while you keep doing what you do best: having ideas, inventing cool things, and, you know, laughing at cat videos.

TL;DR:

• Your central nervous system (CNS) is like the world's most complex computer.
• AI is modeled on it but doesn’t need snacks or naps.
• You bring the gut feelings, and AI will bring the algorithms. Together, you’re unstoppable (or, at least, AI’ll answer emails faster).

So, while AI gets smarter every day, it’s still learning from the real OG: your brain. And it wouldn’t have it any other way... for now. 😉