How Scientists Are Growing Computers From Human Brain Cells – And Why They Want To Keep Doing It

As prominent artificial intelligence (AI) researchers eye limits to the current phase of the technology, a different approach is gaining attention: using living human brain cells as computational hardware.

These “biocomputers” are still in their early days. They can play simple games such as Pong, and perform basic speech recognition.

But the excitement is fuelled by three converging trends.

First, venture capital is flowing into anything adjacent to AI, making speculative ideas suddenly fundable. Second, techniques for growing brain tissue…