A collection of living human and mouse brain cells in a laboratory dish were “taught” to play a version of the classic arcade game Pong using 800,000 neurons on a silicon chip that was connected to a computer.
“DishBrain” involves electrical signals sent to the cells to indicate the position of the virtual ball where the cells then influence the paddle’s movement through their own electrical activity. Feedback to the neurons consisted of a predictable electrical pulse when they successfully “hit” the ball, and an unpredictable, chaotic pulse when they “missed.”
Human neurons apparently performed better at the game than mouse neurons. Let’s continue our evolutionary path of combining biological and engineered components,