As prominent artificial intelligence researchers eye limits to the current phase of the technology, a different approach is gaining attention: using living human brain cells as computational hardware.
These “biocomputers” are still in their early days. They can play simple games such as Pong, and perform basic speech recognition.
But the excitement is fueled by three converging trends.
First, venture capital is flowing into anything adjacent to AI, making speculative ideas suddenly fundable. Second, techniques for growing brain tissue outside the body have matured with the pharmaceutical industry jumping on board. Third, rapid advances in brain–computer interfaces have seen growing acceptance of technologies that blur the line between biology and machines.
But plenty of questions remain. Are we witnessing genuine breakthroughs, or another round of tech-driven hype? And what ethical questions arise when human brain tissue becomes a computational component?
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