Henry Markram has built a supercomputer comprised of 2,000 IBM chips that can handle 22.8 trillion operations per second. "Each of its microchips has been programmed to act just like a real neuron in a real brain."
Blue Brain scientists are confident that, at some point in the next few years, they will be able to start simulating an entire brain. "If we build this brain right, it will do everything," Markram says. I ask him if that includes selfconsciousness: Is it really possible to put a ghost into a machine? "When I say everything, I mean everything," he says, and a mischievous smile spreads across his face.