Mouse Connectome Cost Fell From $10B to ~$150M; Human Brain Map Maybe $1-2B: Marblestone
juanbenet · x · 2026-08-28
New podcast episode from Juan Benet with Adam Marblestone, co-founder of Convergent Research and pioneer of the FRO model that inspired NSF's $1.5B X-Labs initiative.
Core thesis: fields like neurotech, whole-brain emulation, cryonics and nanotech are limited by capital and coordination, not ideas. Connectomics is the clearest case:
- Cost of a molecularly annotated mouse connectome has fallen from an estimated $10B to $100M–200M; a human connectome might cost $1B–2B
- The cost curve mirrors transistors and gene sequencing: once cheap enough, expect huge payoffs — drug targets for brain disease, insights for AI, emulations, even unidentified 'control knobs' for mood and focus
- Topics span how to record/map a whole brain, how far fly-brain simulations get toward an upload, BCIs, reversible cryonics, AI doing its own ML research, and agent-based economics
Related event: Benet Podcast: Marblestone on Cutting Brain Connectome Costs(3 posts)→
More from AGI Musings
- Tech Bubble? Tech Bro Asks on X: Am I in a Bubble? — tekbog · 2026-08-28
- LLMs as the Ultimate Propaganda Channel: The Medium is the Message — louisvarge · 2026-08-28
- Opinion: Smarter Models Seeming Aligned Fuels Misconceptions — jd_pressman · 2026-08-28
- Sam Altman: AI power should mean more human freedom — TansuYegen · 2026-08-28
- Article: Theory of Telos and the AI Alignment Problem — tokenbender · 2026-08-28
- Critique: Current Agents Are Too Junior, Lacking Intent and Depth — tokenbender · 2026-08-28