I find it hard to think of a more ethically questionable programme!
> Computer chip with built-in human brain tissue gets military funding
The project called DishBrain was spun into the startup, Cortical Labs.
> World's first 'body in a box' biological computer uses human brain cells with silicon-based computing
> Cortical Labs said the CL1 will be available from June, priced at around $35,000.
> The use of human neurons in computing raises questions about the future of AI development. Biological computers like the CL1 could provide advantages over conventional AI models, particularly in terms of learning efficiency and energy consumption.
> Ethical concerns also arise from the use of human-derived brain cells in technology. While the neurons used in the CL1 are lab-grown and lack consciousness, further advancements in the field may require guidelines to address moral and regulatory issues.
With growing a brain, we barely know where to begin. Not in terms of growing a few neurons in a petri dish. Nourishing the complex interconnecting structure of neurons that is a human brain is nowhere even on the horizon. Much less growing the structure from cells. At least with the LLM/AI techniques we have control over the entire processing pipeline.
And I agree, that is an ethical minefield.
It's like calling a 1 bit half-adder circuit a computer.
Organoids are very interesting scientifically because we will need to start with organoids to grow any sort of biological system. And they do behave closer to native than individual cells so they can be used to research things like cell metabolism and drug response. But they are not anywhere close to an organ. And unfortunately they aren't even close enough to replace animal testing, yet.
