Well there is no “data” per se, there’s voltages and a wiring map. And this article is talking about having the complete wiring map.
The neurons deliver electrical pulses across synapses. The thickness and length of the synapse can affect the voltage or amplitude transmitted across to the next neuron. And again, if we have this fairly complete map of synapses, we may have enough information to calculate the electrical outputs of each neuron when it fires.
My understanding is that neurons work something like transistors, they receive signals and when triggered by a strong enough signal, or by enough simultaneous signals, that neuron will also fire and transmit down its synapses. With this alone you absolutely have enough structure for very complex decision making, much like a microprocessor.
I guess the question is really how accurate is this map? If we have a clear enough picture of every synaptic connection, we could simply simulate behavior in software…
Audio is inherently analogue, but you can record it into digital formats just fine.
It’s tempting to say “well, that’s different though” but it really isn’t.
Just like with audio, you’ll need high enough fidelity encoding to make it all work, otherwise you end up with garbage.