Advancing NeuroAI through developmental alignment.

Modeling human developmental processes in neural architecture enhances the plausibility and capabilities of NeuroAI systems.

• Why it matters: Current AI models mainly simulate adult intelligence and overlook how intelligence develops, limiting understanding and progress in replicating human-like cognition.
• What they did: The authors review how developmental changes in children's neural architecture, experiences, and learning goals support rapid learning, and propose incorporating these principles into AI design, using early childhood capacities as benchmarks.
• The result: This approach may lead to more mechanistically accurate models of intelligence and improve AI performance by aligning developmentally inspired principles with system design.