Scientists Taught Brain Cells in a Dish to Play Video Games
Scientists call the project DishBrain, which amounts to a bunch of neurons in a dish. They were able to use electrical input to teach DishBrain to play pong. It is all very complex and seemingly opens a can of existential worms but, brains cells playing pong.
In a study that was published on Wednesday in Neuron, researchers wired up in vitro biological neuronal networks (BNNs) made from embryonic rodent and human-induced pluripotent stem cells to create the DishBrain. According to the study, the DishBrain system “can leverage the inherent property of neurons to share a ‘language’’ of electrical activity to link silicon and BNN systems through electrophysiological stimulation and recording.” This system was then essentially plugged into a virtual recreation of the beloved table tennis-inspired video game Pong.
As the first of its kind, the DishBrain system is a promising demonstration of a synthetic-biological system that can learn over time. It also paves the way for future research on the brain, learning, and intelligence.
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