I love the last sentence, and want to expand on it. If ANNs are tools to help computers perceive, then they are analogous to components or layers in the nervous system. If we map the nervous system thoroughly enough and understand the inputs and outputs of each layer/region, then reproducing a human-like nervous system might not be all that complicated.
If reproducing the human nervous system weren't that complicated, we could do drug design inside a computer. The ability to do that alone would be worth billions.
> If reproducing the human nervous system weren't that complicated, we could do drug design inside a computer.
While the myriad nuances of the entire human body are indeed significant roadblocks to drug development, we have a long way to go before those concerns represent the primary bottleneck to progress. If a simulation of a protein's local environment were to reach chemical accuracy (via either some algorithmic breakthrough in quantum chemistry or the development of scalable quantum computers), that would be a huge boon to drug development.
