Living machines? Scientists implant human brain cells on a chip and they learn to play Doom | – The Times of India

In films like The Matrix and Ex Machina, the boundary between biological intelligence and machines dissolves. Human minds are wired into computers, artificial beings develop awareness, and the line between life and technology becomes increasingly blurred. For decades, such ideas belonged firmly to science fiction.Now, a laboratory experiment is forcing scientists to confront a far stranger reality. Living human neurons interacting with a computer system and learning to play a video game.Researchers at Cortical Labs, led by CEO and founder Hon Weng Chong and collaborating with scientists from institutions including Monash University, have demonstrated that lab-grown human brain cells can be grown on a silicon chip and connected to software environments where their electrical activity influences digital systems. In one striking demonstration, these neural cultures were able to interact with the classic game Doom, raising profound questions about the future of computing.While the neurons are not conscious and are far from forming anything resembling a brain, the experiment hints at a radical idea. Computers powered partly by living biological networks.

The work focused on what researchers call biological computing.Their system combines two very different worlds.

By placing neurons on specialised electronic devices known as microelectrode arrays, scientists can both stimulate and record neural activity. The electrodes deliver tiny electrical signals to the cells and capture the electrical spikes the neurons produce in response.These spikes, the same fundamental signals used by neurons inside the human brain, can then be translated into digital commands.In other words, a biological neural network becomes part of a computer system.The neurons used in the experiments are not taken directly from the brain. Instead, scientists begin with ordinary human cells such as skin or blood cells.Using a Nobel Prize-winning technique developed by Shinya Yamanaka, researchers reprogram these cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. These cells are capable of becoming almost any type in the body.These stem cells are then chemically guided to develop into neurons.Over time, the neurons begin to grow long extensions called axons and dendrites, forming connections with one another through synapses. Even in a dish, they naturally organise into small neural networks capable of producing electrical patterns.Those networks can process signals and adapt to feedback. This phenomenon is known as neuroplasticity.

The DishBrain experiments

One of the most widely discussed systems developed by Cortical Labs is called DishBrain.The setup involves roughly 200,000 living neurons grown on a microelectrode array. The electrodes serve as a bridge between the biological cells and a computer running a simulation.In earlier experiments, the neural network learned to play the arcade game Pong.According to Cortical Labs founder Hon Weng Chong, the neurons began adjusting their firing patterns to better control the game.“The neurons organise themselves in a way that allows them to respond to the environment,” Chong explained in earlier demonstrations of the system. “They learn through feedback.”In simple terms, the neurons receive electrical signals representing the game environment and respond with their own firing patterns. The system interprets those signals as actions in the game.For example:

Through repeated interaction, the network begins producing patterns that result in more successful outcomes.

Why Doom matters

The decision to experiment with Doom is not accidental.Since its release in 1993, Doom has become a cultural benchmark in computing circles. Programmers frequently test unusual hardware by asking a simple question: “Can it run Doom?”Over the years, the game has been run on everything from calculators to ATMs and even kitchen appliances.Running Doom, or interacting with its game environment, is essentially a demonstration that a system can process inputs and outputs quickly enough to behave like a computer.In the case of the neural cultures, the computer still runs the game engine itself. The neurons function more like a biological control system, influencing the actions taken inside the game.

Why biological computing is attracting attention

The long-term interest in these experiments goes far beyond video games.Modern artificial intelligence relies heavily on enormous data centres filled with powerful graphics processors produced by companies such as Nvidia.Training large language models and other advanced AI systems can require megawatts of electricity.By contrast, the human brain operates on approximately 20 watts of power. That is roughly the energy consumed by a dim light bulb.This extreme efficiency has led some researchers to wonder whether biological neural systems could one day complement or even outperform traditional silicon computing for certain tasks.Tasks that biological neurons may handle particularly well include:

Interest from investors and intelligence agencies

The potential implications of biological computing have drawn interest from a range of investors.One notable backer of Cortical Labs is In-Q-Tel, a venture capital organisation funded by the US intelligence community that invests in emerging technologies relevant to national security.Historically, In-Q-Tel has funded technologies that later became central to modern digital infrastructure, including geospatial data platforms and advanced analytics systems.Their involvement does not mean the neuron-based computers are destined for military use. It signals that intelligence agencies are watching the technology closely.

The promise and limits of living computers

Despite the excitement surrounding these experiments, scientists emphasise that the technology remains in its infancy.The neural cultures used in the experiments contain around 200,000 neurons.For comparison, the human brain contains roughly 86 billion neurons arranged in extremely complex structures.Moreover, the cultures lack the organised architecture of a real brain. They have no sensory systems, no memory structures and no awareness.Most neuroscientists agree that such neural cultures are far too simple to be conscious.Instead, they function more like a biological neural network capable of responding to electrical stimuli.

A glimpse of a strange computing future

Even so, the research hints at an unusual future in which computing systems may not rely entirely on silicon chips.Scientists have begun exploring the idea of hybrid computing systems combining traditional processors with biological neural networks.In such systems:

The idea remains speculative, but the experiments with neuron cultures interacting with software environments provide an early proof of concept.For now, the neurons controlling a video game are little more than a scientific curiosity.Yet the image is hard to ignore. Living human brain cells growing quietly in a laboratory dish and influencing the actions of a digital world.It may not be the sentient machines imagined in The Matrix. But it is a reminder that the boundary between biology and technology is becoming far less clear than once thought.