THE FUTURE IS COMING SOON

One small idea in the theme of mental or computer game theories of LOST was that what we were show on the television was "Avatar" like simulations in a virtual reality setting. \

Now science is coming through the sci-fi concepts to add another theory to the show's premise: robotic brain functions.

CNET reports IBM today unveiled what it's calling the world's first neurosynaptic computer chip, a processor that mimics the human brain's computing abilities and power efficiency.

Known as TrueNorth, IBM's chip could cram supercomputer-like powers into a microprocessor the size of a postage stamp. Rather than solving problems through brute-force mathematical calculations, like today's processors, it was designed to understand its environment, handle ambiguity, and take action in real time and in context. Plus, it could be among the most power-efficient chips in the history of computing, enabling new types of mobile apps and computing services, IBM principal investigator and senior manager Dharmendra Modha said in an interview.

Modeled after the human brain, the TrueNorth chip incorporates 5.4 billion transistors, the most IBM has ever put on a chip. It also features 1 million programmable neurons and 256 million programmable synapses. That's far lower than the 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion to 150 trillion human brain synapses but still enough, Modha said, to run devices that could, for example, proactively issue tsunami alerts, do oil-spill monitoring, or enforce shipping lane rules. And all that happens while consuming just 70 milliwatts of power, about the same as a hearing aid.
The TrueNorth chip is the core element of IBM's cognitive computing program, which is known as SyNapse.

IBM thinks other potential applications include powering small search-and-rescue robots; helping vision-impaired people move around safely; and automatically distinguishing between voices in a meeting and creating accurate transcripts for each speaker.

As with the leading question in the Terminator franchise, what happens if computers get the same brain processing skills of human beings - - - do they become self-aware?  And if this realization is true, then do robotic brains begin to use "emotions" to help process information?

Then we get to the dream theories of LOST. Some believe that all the action in the series was inside the dreams of a character (most likely Hurley). But if one goes Ghost in the Shell, one can postulate that if robots had human brain capacity, then they could also dream.  Then, what would robots dream about?  Would they base their programs on human literature, culture, television and movie cliches? If so, they could dream a realistic adventure series like LOST.