I have found an interest in HTMs or "Hierarchical Temporal Memorys". Jeff Hawkins, the creator of Palm Inc. and Handspring has started a community around this technology. The aim is to allow computers to learn the same way that the brain does, through patterns in hierarchy and time.
Currently, I'm reading Hierarchical Temporal Memory: Concepts, Theory and Terminology
Robert, from work, thought of a good use for this technology.