Cyborg Brain in a Box

Are we moving slightly closer to the sapient AI entities of science fiction? "A new type of computer that combines regular silicon-based hardware with human neurons is now available for purchase."

Computer That Combines Human Brain with Silicon

This "biological computer," the size of a shoebox, consists of neurons growing on a silicon chip that "sends electrical impulses to and from the neurons to train them to exhibit desired behaviors." The word "behaviors" carries connotations of actions resulting from choices, although I'm sure that's not what is meant. The cybernetic mini-brains don't have consciousness. The system's purpose is to "help researchers develop treatments for brain-related diseases." However, the article does allude to possible future ethical issues, in case the biological computer ever develops enough consciousness to suffer pain.

Or what if a "synthetic biological intelligence" becomes self-aware enough to realize it has a lifespan of only six months? At least, that's how long the neurons can be kept alive at present.

Here's an article analyzing some potential ethical challenges involved in creating "brain organoids." In particular, it addresses the difference between sentience (the capacity to feel sensations) and consciousness:

Playing Brains

Imagine a sapient organic computer system agitating for its rights -- e.g., to have a say in what experiments it's used for, to be protected from pain, for research into extending its lifespan, or maybe for decent working hours, time off, and intellectual enrichment to alleviate the tedium of existence confined to a lab.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

Organs on a Chip

Quinton Smith, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at one of the colleges I attended, the University of California (Irvine), is working on organoids -- "organs-on-a-chip." Stem cells are grown in "three-dimensional gel molds" to mimic human organs in order to explore "how tissues interact." For example, he has reprogrammed stem cells into liver cells to study the connection between liver disease and diet; he grows miniature placentas to investigate preeclampsia. Lab-grown organoids have an ethical advantage over animal experimentation. They're also preferable to animals, which aren't precise counterparts of human subjects, in being composed of actual human cells.

The Organsmith

Here's a Wikipedia article explaining the process in greater depth and technical detail:

Organoids

Of course, I realize these scientists aren't creating independently living organisms, much less generating life from inanimate matter, but the concept still sounds intriguingly Frankensteinian.

Remember the lab-grown miniature brains being studied by neuroscientists?

Artificially Grown Mini-Brains

It's fun to imagine the mini-brains attaining sapience, then conspiring to radicalize the other organoids, overthrow the experimenters, break out of the lab, and rampage through the wider world like the Blob in the vintage movie.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.