Scientists at Cortical Labs, a biotech startup, experimented on the neural capacity of brain cells in isolation and were surprised to find that they could play the computer game ‘Pong’, as per a report by Cnet.
In a lab experiment, about 800,000 live human and mouse brain cells were placed in a dish and connected via electrodes and a simulation of the classic game Pong.
“The scientists then watched as the biological conglomerate quickly taught itself the game and improved its play the more it practiced. They were able to follow along by converting the cellular responses into a visual depiction of the game that looks much like the original.”, says the report.
The team of scientists that conducted this experiment called the system ‘DishBrain’ and according to them, their experiment proves that “neurons in a dish could learn and display basic signs of intelligence.” The results of the experiment were published in the journal Neuron, in which the scientists came up with a more scientific-sounding term for their setup: Synthetic Biological Intelligence or SBI.
Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI)
The researchers claim that the Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI) could help in solving the befuddling mysteries of the brain and open the path for better treatments for certain neurological conditions. SBI is also being seen as an alternative to animal testing.
“DishBrain offers a simpler approach to test how the brain works and gain insights into debilitating conditions such as epilepsy and dementia,” the report quotes Hon Weng Chong, chief executive officer of biotech start-up Cortical Labs.
The researchers reportedly found that the living brain cells (biological intelligence) “behave pretty differently than a computer might in terms of AI” and acted more like a real live brain when compared to AI.
“For example, when DishBrain successfully returned the “ball” in Pong, that resulted in the system being able to better predict where it would move next. If DishBrain failed, it would lose the point and a new point would begin with the computer releasing a ball from a random starting place, and so on. Because DishBrain uses a feedback loop, it seems to get progressively better the more it plays.”, the report added.
The researchers are now planning to get the brain cells drunk and then see how well they react. No, really.
“We’re trying to create a dose response curve with ethanol — basically get them ‘drunk’ and see if they play the game more poorly, just as when people drink,” sid Brett Kagan, chief scientific officer of Cortical Labs and a co-author of the study
In a lab experiment, about 800,000 live human and mouse brain cells were placed in a dish and connected via electrodes and a simulation of the classic game Pong.
“The scientists then watched as the biological conglomerate quickly taught itself the game and improved its play the more it practiced. They were able to follow along by converting the cellular responses into a visual depiction of the game that looks much like the original.”, says the report.
The team of scientists that conducted this experiment called the system ‘DishBrain’ and according to them, their experiment proves that “neurons in a dish could learn and display basic signs of intelligence.” The results of the experiment were published in the journal Neuron, in which the scientists came up with a more scientific-sounding term for their setup: Synthetic Biological Intelligence or SBI.
Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI)
The researchers claim that the Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI) could help in solving the befuddling mysteries of the brain and open the path for better treatments for certain neurological conditions. SBI is also being seen as an alternative to animal testing.
“DishBrain offers a simpler approach to test how the brain works and gain insights into debilitating conditions such as epilepsy and dementia,” the report quotes Hon Weng Chong, chief executive officer of biotech start-up Cortical Labs.
The researchers reportedly found that the living brain cells (biological intelligence) “behave pretty differently than a computer might in terms of AI” and acted more like a real live brain when compared to AI.
“For example, when DishBrain successfully returned the “ball” in Pong, that resulted in the system being able to better predict where it would move next. If DishBrain failed, it would lose the point and a new point would begin with the computer releasing a ball from a random starting place, and so on. Because DishBrain uses a feedback loop, it seems to get progressively better the more it plays.”, the report added.
The researchers are now planning to get the brain cells drunk and then see how well they react. No, really.
“We’re trying to create a dose response curve with ethanol — basically get them ‘drunk’ and see if they play the game more poorly, just as when people drink,” sid Brett Kagan, chief scientific officer of Cortical Labs and a co-author of the study
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