Scientists have developed artificial intelligence (AI) that can tell how smart a person, just by analyzing MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the brain of the person.
Researchers from the California Institute of technology, the medical center Cedars-Sinai and the University of Salerno in the United States show that their new tool based on artificial intelligence can predict the IQ level of a person just by analyzing the results of scanning brain activity at rest.
Functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is developing a map of brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow in certain areas of the brain. In other words, the human intellect can be judged by the activity of the brain when it is at rest and is not looking for any solutions for puzzles, math problems or riddles.
“We found that if people just lie quietly in the scanner while we evaluate the patterns in their brain activity, we can fairly accurately predict their intelligence with these data”, – said the head of the project Ralph Adolphs.
To teach artificial intelligence complex patterns of activity in the human brain, the researchers conducted brain scans of nearly 900 people. After processing, the AI was able to predict intelligence at statistically significant levels. However, as the researchers note, they have more work to do.
The study was conducted in the framework of creating a diagnostic tool that can tell a lot about the human mind based on the brain scan.
Scientists said that they would like to see their algorithm worked well for the diagnosis of conditions like autism, schizophrenia, and anxiety.
The researchers emphasize that functional MRI is not a diagnostic tool, but they are actively working on it.
