By Ashley Strickland, CNN
The human brain is unrivaled in its capacity to process information.
Sure, we have days where our minds don’t feel as sharp. But the extraordinary 3-pound organ is still capable of things that supercomputers and robots can’t do.
The human brain evolved to form billions of neurons, enabling us to learn and make complex logical decisions. We can look at two different animals, such as a cat and a dog, and tell them apart, while a computer struggles at the task.
Advances in artificial intelligence have caused some to wonder when computers will cross the line that divides humans from technology, like the sentient computer HAL 9000 from the sci-fi novel and film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
So far, no form of AI has made such a leap toward humanity. But there may be a new game in town.
Networks of brain organoids could one day be used to support biocomputers.
A new field called organoid intelligence could be the basis for computers powered by human brain cells.
Lab-grown brain organoids — nicknamed “intelligence in a dish” — are pen dot-size cell cultures that contain neurons capable of brainlike functions.
Researchers announced Tuesday their plan eventually to use brain organoids to create energy-efficient “biocomputers” that rival today’s supercomputers and may revolutionize pharmaceutical testing for diseases like Alzheimer’s.
But the biological hardware comes with a variety of ethical concerns, including whether organoids can achieve consciousness or sentience or feel pain.
Source: CNN
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