Scientists build computers using living brain-like cells

BERN: For many years, scientists have been trying to create computer chips that work like the human brain, a concept known as neuromorphic computing.

Although the idea sounds like science fiction, some researchers are actually making progress in building computers using living cells, a field called biocomputing.

A leading group of scientists in Switzerland are working on this technology.

Researchers hope to create “living” servers in data centers that mimic how AI learns while using much less energy than current computers.

This idea comes from Dr. Fred Jordan of the FinalSpark lab and it contrasts with the hardware-and-software setup of regular computers we use today.

Dr Jordan and other researchers call their creations “wetware”, which involves growing neurons into small clusters and connecting them to electrodes so they can be used like miniature computers.

“In science fiction, people have been living with these ideas for quite a long time,” he said, as per BBC.

Dr Jordan added, “When you start to say, ‘I’m going to use a neuron like a little machine’, it’s a different view of our own brain and it makes you question what we are.”

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AI might help advance wetware research but according to researchers wetware is still experimental and not expected to replace traditional computer chip materials in the near future.