An old trope in science fiction B-movies has been the “brain in a jar”. But this isn’t so fictional these days with lab-grown braincells and even computers utilizing neurons for calculations. This new “wetware” is being used to replace silicone in artificial intelligence.
“Inside a lab in the picturesque Swiss town of Vevey, a scientist gives tiny clumps of human brain cells the nutrient-rich fluid they need to stay alive.
“It is vital these mini-brains remain healthy, because they are serving as rudimentary computer processors — and unlike your laptop, once they die, they cannot be rebooted.
“This new field of research, called biocomputing or ‘wetware’, aims to harness the evolutionarily honed yet still mysterious computing power of the human brain.”
But will such brains gain consciousness?
“All the scientists AFP spoke to dismissed the idea that these tiny balls of cells in petri dishes were at risk of developing anything resembling consciousness.
“…
“However much about our brains, including how they create consciousness, remains a mystery.
“That is why Ward-Cherrier hopes that — beyond computer processing — biocomputing will ultimately reveal more about how our brains work.
“Back in the lab, Jordan opens the door of what looks like a big fridge containing 16 brain organoids in a tangle of tubes.
“Lines suddenly start spiking on the screen next to the incubator, indicating significant neural activity.
“The brain cells have no known way of sensing that their door has been opened, and the scientists have spent years trying to figure why this happens.”
This means but one thing: The ability to create sentient bioroid catgirls in the lab is coming closer to reality.
Truly, we live in an age of wonder.
A little mood music:
