Scientists have built a system that can recognize different people’s voices using living brain cells. To achieve a voice recognition accuracy of 78%, the hybrid biocomputer combined electronics with human brain tissue generated in a lab.
If the artificial intelligence experiment succeeds, the researchers from Indiana University Bloomington in the U.S. may usher in a new age of extremely powerful “Brainware” computers.
The researchers wrote in a paper titled “Brain Organoid Reservoir Computing for Artificial Intelligence” that it could be used to address current limitations in A.I. technologies. The paper was published in Nature Electronics journal on Monday and aimed to mimic the brain’s structure and working principles.
“Brainware stands out for its capacity for adaptive reservoir computing, thanks to the high plasticity and adaptability of organoids, which allow it to change and reorganize in response to electrical stimulation.” Furthermore, the method has the potential to lessen the power requirements of contemporary A.I. systems significantly; for example, a neural network powered by a human brain only requires 20 watts of electricity, whereas current A.I. hardware consumes eight million watts.
Organoids of the brain, created in the lab from stem cells, provide new insights into the human brain’s anatomy and function and new avenues for treating neurological disorders. As these lab-grown brain components continue to expand in complexity, ethical questions regarding the definition of a person and the threshold beyond which brain tissue is considered human have arisen.
Brain organoids’ potential applications and treatments were the subject of a recent proposal by Japanese and Taiwanese researchers to establish a legislative framework to address questions of informed consent and similar matters. Masanori Kataoka of Hiroshima University headed this study. Kataoka stated, “Although human brain organoids do not constitute natural persons at present, the likelihood of their potential to become natural persons shortly requires more thorough consideration in advance of that reality occurring.”
Recent work by Brainoware has not yet addressed these issues; for example, their AI-infused brain organoids can recognize a speaker but cannot comprehend what they are saying.
