I worked in ATR while Hugo de Gari worked there.
He has never been sucessfull in making a real artificial brain, just spending money and blowing.
We also signed a letter against him because he talked about many thing against ATR when he talked to a magazine reporter ( I forgot it is "scientic American" or other magazine) in about 1998(or 1999). I forgot the exact year.
The magazine refused to publish our letters.