Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
*Subscribe to Foresight Neurotechnology Seminar Group:* foresight.org/seminar/neurotechnology-seminar-group
Supporting researchers, entrepreneurs, and funders in advancing neurotechnology progress and applications in brain-computer interfaces, whole brain emulations, and neuro-inspired AI safety.
*Philip Shiu | Towards Embodied, Whole Brain Emulations*
Abstract: Embodied, whole-brain emulations of animals, based on the connectome of their brain, would advance AI, accelerate mental health treatments, and may be a path towards aligned AI and furthering human flourishing. In this talk, I will discuss efforts to create embodied models of brains. Using the connectome of a fruit fly, I and others used simple biophysical neural models, and showed that this produced reasonably accurate models of neural activity. Next, we’ve embodied this brain model. At the end of this talk, I’ll discuss paths towards embodied whole-brain emulations in mammals.
Bio: Philip Shiu is a neuroscientist, and Head of Engineering at Eon Systems. During his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, he mapped the Drosophila taste system, and created a whole-brain simulation of the fly brain. He received his PhD from Harvard University, where he studied gene silencing in C. elegans. He is recipient of a NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship, a NSF GRFP fellowship, and a Foresight Fellowship.
linkedin.com/in/philip-shiu
elifesciences.org/articles/79887
nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07763-9
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*About The Foresight Institute*
The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1986 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support. From molecular nanotechnology, to brain-computer interfaces, space exploration, cryptocommerce, and AI, Foresight gathers leading minds to advance research and accelerate progress toward flourishing futures.
*We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page:* foresight.org/donate
*Visit* https://foresight.org, *subscribe to our channel for more videos or join us here:*
*• Twitter:* twitter.com/foresightinst
*• Facebook:* facebook.com/foresightinst
*• LinkedIn:* linkedin.com/company/foresight-institute
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*Timecodes*
00:00 Brain Emulation Goals
02:20 Why Structure Matters
03:10 Building The Fly Brain
08:30 Sugar To Action
11:40 Predicting Neural Responses
15:00 Necessary Feeding Circuits
17:00 Optogenetic Validation
19:10 Integrating Taste Signals
23:30 Predicting New Biology
24:40 Q&A: A Connectome Completeness
27:00 Q&A: Limits Of Behavior Modeling
30:40 Q&A: Mammalian Brain Emulation
34:20 Q&A: Micro-Island Neural Systems
38:30 Q&A: Structure To Function Scaling
41:50 Q&A: Cell Types And Generalization
47:40 Q&A: Mouse Brain Timelines
*Subscribe to Foresight Neurotechnology Seminar Group:* foresight.org/seminar/neurotechnology-seminar-group
Supporting researchers, entrepreneurs, and funders in advancing neurotechnology progress and applications in brain-computer interfaces, whole brain emulations, and neuro-inspired AI safety.
*Philip Shiu | Towards Embodied, Whole Brain Emulations*
Abstract: Embodied, whole-brain emulations of animals, based on the connectome of their brain, would advance AI, accelerate mental health treatments, and may be a path towards aligned AI and furthering human flourishing. In this talk, I will discuss efforts to create embodied models of brains. Using the connectome of a fruit fly, I and others used simple biophysical neural models, and showed that this produced reasonably accurate models of neural activity. Next, we’ve embodied this brain model. At the end of this talk, I’ll discuss paths towards embodied whole-brain emulations in mammals.
Bio: Philip Shiu is a neuroscientist, and Head of Engineering at Eon Systems. During his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, he mapped the Drosophila taste system, and created a whole-brain simulation of the fly brain. He received his PhD from Harvard University, where he studied gene silencing in C. elegans. He is recipient of a NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship, a NSF GRFP fellowship, and a Foresight Fellowship.
linkedin.com/in/philip-shiu
elifesciences.org/articles/79887
nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07763-9
══════════════════════════════════════
*About The Foresight Institute*
The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1986 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support. From molecular nanotechnology, to brain-computer interfaces, space exploration, cryptocommerce, and AI, Foresight gathers leading minds to advance research and accelerate progress toward flourishing futures.
*We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page:* foresight.org/donate
*Visit* https://foresight.org, *subscribe to our channel for more videos or join us here:*
*• Twitter:* twitter.com/foresightinst
*• Facebook:* facebook.com/foresightinst
*• LinkedIn:* linkedin.com/company/foresight-institute
══════════════════════════════════════
*Timecodes*
00:00 Brain Emulation Goals
02:20 Why Structure Matters
03:10 Building The Fly Brain
08:30 Sugar To Action
11:40 Predicting Neural Responses
15:00 Necessary Feeding Circuits
17:00 Optogenetic Validation
19:10 Integrating Taste Signals
23:30 Predicting New Biology
24:40 Q&A: A Connectome Completeness
27:00 Q&A: Limits Of Behavior Modeling
30:40 Q&A: Mammalian Brain Emulation
34:20 Q&A: Micro-Island Neural Systems
38:30 Q&A: Structure To Function Scaling
41:50 Q&A: Cell Types And Generalization
47:40 Q&A: Mouse Brain Timelines
