"Enhancing Human Memory and Imagination Through Generative AI"

A new study by UCL researchers explores how recent advances in generative AI can help explain human memory and imagination. Using a generative neural network model, the study simulates how neural networks in the brain learn from and remember a series of events, shedding light on how memories enable learning, reliving experiences, and constructing new experiences for imagination and planning. The research suggests that when we replay memories while resting, it helps our brains pick up on patterns from past experiences that can be used to make predictions, and it explains how memories are reconstructed and why existing memories often contain "gist-like" distortions.