Khaberni - Scientists are racing against time to develop a new generation of computers that do not rely on silicon chips, but on living blocks of human brain cells cultivated inside the lab and used in computational operations, in a revolutionary field known as biocomputing or wetware.
Swiss company FinalSpark is one of the leading pioneers in this field; it works on developing "biological processors" based on precise clusters of neural cells known as organoids, which are capable of performing simple computational tasks.
The company’s co-founder, Dr. Fred Jordan, says: "Instead of trying to simulate the brain with silicon, let's use the real brain."
How are "mini-brains" made?
These organoids are extracted from human skin cells reprogrammed to become stem cells, then they transform into neural cells. Each organoid contains about 10,000 neural cells, which is roughly equivalent to the brain of a fruit fly, compared to 100 billion cells in the human brain.
Despite their small size, the organoids show learning and electrical response capabilities similar to binary signals in digital computing (0 and 1).
In a BBC report, science editor Zoe Kleinman described her experience inside FinalSpark's lab, saying that pressing a key on a keyboard generated nerve pulses that appeared on the screen as brain-like spikes.
Scientists also run experiments to enhance the "learning" of these organoids by rewarding them with dopamine to promote desired neural behavior, in a process that mimics the way the human brain learns through stimulation.
Less energy.. and broader possibilities
Jordan notes that neural cells are a million times more efficient in energy consumption compared to traditional electronic circuits, making biocomputing a future candidate to reduce the massive energy required for modern artificial intelligence models.
However, maintaining "live processors" represents a significant challenge as they die after a few months, and cannot be simply "rebooted" as in silicon.
Professor Simon Schultz from Imperial College London says: "The organoids do not have blood vessels, and we don’t yet know how to manufacture them in a way that ensures their longer survival."
In some cases, the organoids show final neural bursts before their death, which Jordan describes as "final moments" similar to what happens in the human brain.
Promising applications.. and ethical concerns
Besides developing computing, this technology provides tremendous opportunities to understand neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and autism, and helps reduce reliance on animal testing.
So far, 10 universities have participated in the FinalSpark program, while Cortical Labs achieved a milestone in 2022 after training neural cells to play the famous video game Pong.
Nevertheless, scientists agree that biocomputing will not replace silicon soon.
Dr. Lena Smirnova from Johns Hopkins University says: "Biocomputing should complement silicon-based artificial intelligence, not replace it."
As the debate on ethical aspects escalates, FinalSpark confirms that its organoids do not possess any consciousness or pain receptors.
