Classroom Questions

Questions for ‘The brain of a tiny worm inspired a new type of AI’ 

a microscopic image showing a roundworm front and end

C. elegans, seen here, is a tiny, transparent roundworm. At 1 millimeter (four 1/100ths of an inch) long, it could fit on the tip of a pencil. Its brain is even tinier. Yet even its simple brain does a far better job at learning and adapting to the environment than any AI system people use today.

HeitiPaves/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By Science News Explores

To accompany ‘The brain of a tiny worm inspired a new type of AI’ 

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

  1. What is the role of an organism’s nervous system? Describe how you imagine an individual nerve cell might contribute to the nervous system’s overall functioning.
  2. What does it mean to learn? Do you think a computer can learn? Explain your answer.

During Reading:

  1. What is the relationship between synapses and neurons?
  2. What does ANN stand for in this story?
  3. What is C. elegans and how many neurons does it have?
  4. Neurons in C. elegans’ nervous system can pass information both ways. How does this backward and forward flow of information compare with most ANNs?
  5. What does Kanaka Rajan think is “remarkable” about Ramin Hasani’s new method for approaching differential equations?
  6. How does the liquid neural network’s ability to “learn” compare with that of a typical ANN during the AI training stage? What about after training?
  7. Researchers did a series of experiments using a red chair to compare the performance of the liquid neural network vs. typical ANNs. Briefly summarize what researchers learned from these studies.

After Reading:

  1. The nervous system of C. elegans consists of relatively few neurons (compared to us). How did this relative simplicity inspire Daniela Rus’s approach to her work? Now, come up with another example of an organism that manages to do something extraordinarily well. How might this organism help to inspire technological innovation in the future?
  2. After reading this story, what do you think is the greatest strength of the liquid neural network over typical ANNs? Consider the different technologies that use AI today, especially those in our daily lives. What is one technology not mentioned in this story that might make use of this strength? Explain how the strengths of the liquid neural network would benefit this technology.