http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn12701-artificial-brain-falls-for-optical-illusions.html
A computer program that emulates the human brain falls for the same
optical illusions humans do.
It suggests the illusions are a by-product of the way babies learn to
filter their complex surroundings. Researchers say this means future
robots must be susceptible to the same tricks as humans are in order to
see as well as us.
For some time, scientists have believed one class of optical illusions
result from the way the brain tries to disentangle the colour of an object
and the way it is lit. An object may appear brighter or darker, either
because of the shade of its colour, or because it is in bright light or
shadows.
The brain learns how to tackle this through trial and error when we are
babies, the theory goes. Mostly it gets it right, but occasionally a scene
contradicts our previous experiences. The brain gets it wrong and we
perceive an object lighter or darker than it really is creating an
illusion.
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