A "biocomputer" powered by human brain cells could be developed in our lifetime, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers. The team of scientists investigating this novel approach of harnessing human brain power to fuel technology say it could make artificial intelligence obsolete. In time, we may see something called “organoid intelligence,” or OI, outperform any artificial system, and do it far more efficiently, say the researchers.
According to Science Daily, the researchers outlined their plan for using organoid intelligence to power computers in the journal Frontiers in Science.
“Computing and artificial intelligence have been driving the technology revolution, but they are reaching a ceiling,” said Dr. Thomas Hartung who is spearheading the work. Hartung is a professor of health sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has devoted his work to avoid animal and human testing. For nearly two decades scientists have used tiny organoids, lab-grown tissue resembling fully gown organs, to experiment on kidneys, lungs, and other organs.
Hartung and his colleagues have more recently begun to work with brain organoids, orbs the size of a pen dot with neurons and other features that could sustain basic functions like learning and remembering.
“This opens up research on how the human brain works,” said Hartung. “Because you can start manipulating the system, doing things you cannot ethically do with human brains.”
The brain organoids each contain about 50,000 cells, about the size of a fruit fly’s nervous system. Hartung envisions these organoids will one day power futuristic computers that will alleviate the energy consumption demands of supercomputing. While computers process numerical calculations faster than humans, our brains are superior in making complex logical decisions such as differentiating a cat from a dog, says Science Daily.
“The brain is still unmatched by modern computers,” Hartung said. “Frontier, the latest supercomputer in Kentucky, is a $600 million, 6,800-square-feet installation. Only in June of last year, it exceeded for the first time the computational capacity of a single human brain — but using a million times more energy.”
Hartung says it will take decades for his vision to be realized. But, he says, with proper funding a future may be created where biocomputers support superior computing speed, processing power, data efficiency, and storage capabilities.
Other experts predict that using organoid intelligence will help revolutionize drug testing for neurodevelopment disorders and neurodegeneration. Scientists will be able to compare brain organoids from donors with autism to the organoids from typically developed donors without having to use animals or access patients.
“We are at a moment in time, where the technologies to achieve actual biocomputing have matured,” Hartung said, according to CNET. “The hope is that some of the remarkable functionalities of the human brain can be realized as OI, such as the ability to make fast decisions based on incomplete and contradictive information (intuitive thinking).”
Lynn C. Allison ✉
Lynn C. Allison, a Newsmax health reporter, is an award-winning medical journalist and author of more than 30 self-help books.
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