The development of general-purpose brain-inspired computing

Brain-inspired computing uses insights from neuroscience to develop more efficient computing systems. The approach is of use in a broad range of applications—from neural simulation to intelligent computing—and could potentially be used to create a general-purpose computing infrastructure. Here we explore the development of general-purpose brain-inspired computing. We examine the hardware and software that have so far been used to create brain-inspired computing systems. We then consider the potential of combining approaches from neuroscience and computer science to build general-purpose brain-inspired computing systems, highlighting three areas: temporal, spatial and spatiotemporal capabilities; approximate computing and precise computing; and control flow and data flow. Finally, we discuss initiatives that will be needed to develop general-purpose brain-inspired computing, highlighting three potential strategies: application-level pattern generalization, hardware-level structural generalization and software-level systematic generalization.