The brain appears to be a prediction engine. How do we translate the principle of prediction into a practical learning program?

The brain appears to be a prediction engine. How do we translate the principle of prediction into a practical learning program?

The brain uses spikes. Do spikes play a fundamental role in AI and learning or are they just made necessary by biological hardware?

It could be said that IBM Watson’s predictive analytics are a kind of spiking, where hypothesis scores compete for the threshold of confidence.