1. An artificial visual recognition system comprising: a digital processor; and a model that effectively replicates a visual cortex, the model executed by the digital processor and having a loose hierarchy of layers, each layer, from a lowest hierarchy level to a top level, providing increasing selectivity and invariance of an input image such that model output produces feature recognition and classification of an object in the input image, the hierarchy allowing bypass routes between layers, at least one bypass route from a layer at one level to a higher layer enabling increased selectivity and decreased invariance to the input image at the higher layer relative to a layer at a hierarchy level succeeding the one level, the at least one bypass route corresponding to a direct projection in the visual cortex.