Organoid – not quantum computer -It could be the next big thing in computing if Australian researchers believe it.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, along with Dr. Brett Kagan, chief scientist at Cortical Labs in Melbourne, hope to create a new kind of computer based on biology.
A team working together on a biological brain that learned to play Pong has revealed how a biocomputing device can improve performance/power ratios by orders of magnitude. We generated small clusters (which we call organoids) of human brain cells (grown from stem cells in petri dishes).
organoid intelligence
Their next goal is a 200x improvement (10 million neurons). This is the minimum threshold for organoid intelligence according to the authors, but it is still far from the human brain (80 billion neurons or more than 8000 times his).Now like the supercomputer and its thousands of computers GPUs sand CPU s, it is possible that several small so-called organoids could be assembled to mimic a larger (mega?) brain.
While silicon-based super computer It could quickly match the raw performance of the average human brain (about 1 exaflops). small nuclear power plant to do so. paper – Published in Frontiers in Science (opens in new tab) We also highlighted differences in memory capacity and extensive meshing between neurons. All of this makes the human brain an excellent biological computer.
no, not the matrix
Interest in organoids has grown over the past decade as a means to treat disease, but few teams have considered organoids as building blocks for future computing devices.
This group coined the term organoid intelligence (rather brainy intelligence) describes the use of brain-associated cells in biocomputing. It is very different from the work of brain-computer interfaces (Elon Musk’s Neuralink ) or in the catalog DNA computer But the work of these Australian scientists highlights a huge gap that exists between silicon-based computing and what nature has created.
“This emerging field of biocomputing promises unprecedented advances in computing speed, processing power, data efficiency, and storage capabilities, all of which require less energy,” Dr. Kagan notes. bottom.
“A particularly exciting aspect of this collaboration is the open and collaborative spirit in which it was formed. Bringing together these diverse professionals is not only essential to optimizing for success, but also It provides an important touchpoint for industry collaboration.”
The rise of organoids has raised many ethical concerns regarding their use. CNN spoke to multiple experts (opens in new tab) On the subject of artificial intelligence, it is consciousness as applied to organoids, and that the organoid system of the brain may one day exhibit the assumptions of the types of sensation, consciousness, and general intelligence usually associated with humans. There seems to be a general consensus.
“This emerging field needs to actively address the ethical and moral issues that accompany this kind of scientific advancement, and do so before technology falls into the moral abyss.” Interviewee One of them said:
