Do AI speech models think like your brain?

Researchers mapped representations from OpenAI's Whisper speech model onto brain activity recorded directly from epilepsy patients' cortices during listening. Middle layers of the AI model predicted neural responses better than shallow or deep layers, mirroring how the brain builds speech understanding hierarchically. Attention patterns revealed the model and brain align on specific sounds at specific moments—a match that could help neuroscientists understand speech processing and improve brain-computer interfaces.