ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.
Listen "BI 147 Noah Hutton: In Silico"
Episode Synopsis
Check out my free video series about what's missing in AI and Neuroscience
Support the show to get full episodes, full archive, and join the Discord community.
Noah Hutton writes, directs, and scores documentary and narrative films. On this episode, we discuss his documentary In Silico. In 2009, Noah watched a TED talk by Henry Markram, in which Henry claimed it would take 10 years to fully simulate a human brain. This claim inspired Noah to chronicle the project, visiting Henry and his team periodically throughout. The result was In Silico, which tells the science, human, and social story of Henry's massively funded projects - the Blue Brain Project and the Human Brain Project.
In Silico website.Rent or buy In Silico.Noah's website.Twitter: @noah_hutton.
0:00 - Intro
3:36 - Release and premier
7:37 - Noah's background
9:52 - Origins of In Silico
19:39 - Recurring visits
22:13 - Including the critics
25:22 - Markram's shifting outlook and salesmanship
35:43 - Promises and delivery
41:28 - Computer and brain terms interchange
49:22 - Progress vs. illusion of progress
52:19 - Close to quitting
58:01 - Salesmanship vs bad at estimating timelines
1:02:12 - Brain simulation science
1:11:19 - AGI
1:14:48 - Brain simulation vs. neuro-AI
1:21:03 - Opinion on TED talks
1:25:16 - Hero worship
1:29:03 - Feedback on In Silico
Support the show to get full episodes, full archive, and join the Discord community.
Noah Hutton writes, directs, and scores documentary and narrative films. On this episode, we discuss his documentary In Silico. In 2009, Noah watched a TED talk by Henry Markram, in which Henry claimed it would take 10 years to fully simulate a human brain. This claim inspired Noah to chronicle the project, visiting Henry and his team periodically throughout. The result was In Silico, which tells the science, human, and social story of Henry's massively funded projects - the Blue Brain Project and the Human Brain Project.
In Silico website.Rent or buy In Silico.Noah's website.Twitter: @noah_hutton.
0:00 - Intro
3:36 - Release and premier
7:37 - Noah's background
9:52 - Origins of In Silico
19:39 - Recurring visits
22:13 - Including the critics
25:22 - Markram's shifting outlook and salesmanship
35:43 - Promises and delivery
41:28 - Computer and brain terms interchange
49:22 - Progress vs. illusion of progress
52:19 - Close to quitting
58:01 - Salesmanship vs bad at estimating timelines
1:02:12 - Brain simulation science
1:11:19 - AGI
1:14:48 - Brain simulation vs. neuro-AI
1:21:03 - Opinion on TED talks
1:25:16 - Hero worship
1:29:03 - Feedback on In Silico
More episodes of the podcast Brain Inspired
BI 228 Alex Maier: Laws of Consciousness
31/12/2025
In God we trust