A dish of living brain cells has learned to play an arcade game and can now use its knowledge unlike any computer (a thread):
1/ In a recent study, more than 800,000 living brain cells connected to a computer were able to sense the position of an electronic ball and control a virtual paddle in a game of 'Pong'
2/ A research company named Cortical Labs has been trying to understand how living brain cells acquire intelligence
The Pong experiment was a way to find out
The Pong experiment was a way to find out
3/ "We've made huge strides with silicon computing, but they're still rigid and inflexible," says Brett Kagan, an author of the study and chief scientific officer at Cortical Labs in Melbourne, Australia
"That's something we don't see with biologyβ¦"
"That's something we don't see with biologyβ¦"
4/ For example, both humans and computers can learn to make a cup of tea, Kagan says
But humans can generalize what they've learned in a way that computers cannot
But humans can generalize what they've learned in a way that computers cannot
5/To test the cells' learning abilities, researchers grew them in a thumb-sized dish filled with nutrients on a silicon chip
Then a computer generated a game of Pong for the cells to play while monitoring their responses
Then a computer generated a game of Pong for the cells to play while monitoring their responses
6/ At first, the cells weren't able to understand the computer signals, so the scientists motivated them with electric shocks
Eventually, the cells learned to generate patterns of electrical activity that moved the paddle in front of the ball
Eventually, the cells learned to generate patterns of electrical activity that moved the paddle in front of the ball
7/ Researchers discovered that human brain cells played at a slightly higher level than mouse brain cells
Which was impressive, considering each network had fewer cells than a cockroach's brain
Which was impressive, considering each network had fewer cells than a cockroach's brain
8/ Ultimately, creating a system for brain cells to learn Pong points toward a future where biology can make computers more intelligent by changing how they learn
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