Alexander Lewis
Dec 12, 2023
In a groundbreaking feat, researchers have harnessed the power of living brain cells to create an artificial intelligence system adept at distinguishing between different voices.
Integrating electronics into cultivated human brain tissue, the hybrid biocomputer accomplished voice recognition tasks with an impressive 78% accuracy rate. The team from Indiana University Bloomington in the US, architects behind this remarkable innovation, envisions the dawn of a new era marked by potent "Brainoware" computers.
"Brain-inspired computing hardware seeks to mirror the brain's structure and operational principles, addressing existing limitations in artificial intelligence technologies," stated the researchers in their paper titled "Brain organoid reservoir computing for artificial intelligence", published in the journal Nature Electronics.
The Brainoware system, fashioned from the adaptive nature of organoids, showcases exceptional flexibility, capable of altering and reorganising in response to electrical stimulation, demonstrating prowess in adaptive reservoir computing.
Additionally, this approach could revolutionise energy efficiency in artificial intelligence. While current AI hardware consumes a staggering 8 million watts to operate a neural network, Brainoware accomplishes similar tasks with a mere 20 watts — mirroring the efficiency of the human brain.
Brain organoids, derived from stem cells and nurtured in laboratories, not only offer insights into brain functionality but also serve as potential avenues for investigating neural diseases and their treatment.
However, the increasing complexity of these lab-grown brain components has spurred ethical debates about defining personhood concerning brain tissue's development stages.
Addressing these ethical considerations, Hiroshima University researcher Masanori Kataoka emphasised the need for proactive discussions on issues like informed consent and the potential evolution of brain organoids into entities resembling natural persons.
Despite the remarkable strides made in Brainoware technology, the AI-incorporated brain organoids currently excel in identifying speakers but fall short in understanding verbal content. The research, although transformative, remains distant from grappling with the ethical implications of such advancements.
