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Melbourne startup launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells

abc.net.au

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Re: Melbourne startup launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells

#21

Post by h0l0cube »

etrautmann wrote: post #13
ASalazarMX wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hundreds of thousands of live human brain cells A human brain has like six orders of magnitude more cells than that chip. A single ant has 250,000 neurons. A crow brain has 1,500,000,000. I don't think we have to worry yet.

But how would you know? With a patient who has locked-in syndrome they can sense and think but have no ability to move or communicate. How could you tell if your fish brain (or future AI model) has the capacity to think or suffer?

To answer the rhetorical: We don't know (and possibly can't know).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness

Re: Melbourne startup launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells

#22

Post by 6510 »

stubish wrote: post #15

I imagine training time would be an issue with biological computers. Waiting for chemicals means a very low clock speed. And you can't run a 100 training jobs in parallel and merge them.

I think it only has to learn how to interface with DeepSeek.

Re: Melbourne startup launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells

#26

Post by Frederation »

stubish wrote: post #14
ada1981 wrote: post #9

"current systems are too primitive to feel or understand." Is there evidence to suggest that if it can feel or understand, that would actually be an issue? Every day millions of sentient beings are killed for human consumption and millions more wait in torturous conditions. It would be odd if there was outrage over a bio computer, but not over, say, the practice of using cows and pigs for food, which feel pain, have…

It would not be odd. Outrage is emotion, and logic has little impact. Especially dealing with groups rather than individuals. But even individuals will rationalize their boiled-alive lobster dinner, which is normal in their worldview, while decrying something new they impulsively dislike. And then forget the rationalization entirely, because that is how brains work. Getting the untrained to adjust their worldview, th…

Well said.

Re: Melbourne startup launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells

#28

Post by tomkarho »

ASalazarMX wrote: post #7
makeworld wrote: post #6

Really hoping human brain cells don't necessarily create consciousness, in this case.

> hundreds of thousands of live human brain cells A human brain has like six orders of magnitude more cells than that chip. A single ant has 250,000 neurons. A crow brain has 1,500,000,000. I don't think we have to worry yet.

Emphasis in "yet"

Re: Melbourne startup launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells

#30

Post by MattPalmer1086 »

odyssey7 wrote: post #11
ASalazarMX wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hundreds of thousands of live human brain cells A human brain has like six orders of magnitude more cells than that chip. A single ant has 250,000 neurons. A crow brain has 1,500,000,000. I don't think we have to worry yet.

Imagine that every individual cell is conscious, and that consciousness is a binary quality.

Ok. So the brain cell is individually conscious. Won't be conscious of much, it has no sense organs. Just lost in its own thoughts?
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