Welcome to THE EDGE, a series that focuses on the edge of technology. This series will not be about obscure, small advances in technology—our goal is to be where you will first hear about something that everyone will be talking about in the next few years. This is where you'll discover tech with the ability to transform and shape our future, and follow its development from its earliest phases.
Personally, as someone who's been interested in the evolution of technology for as long as I can remember, I feel the next wave of technology comes with a risk factor we haven't seen before.
AI brings with it the disruption of human-to-human interaction, whether it be professionally, as it replaces co-workers or entire departments in the workforce, or in the still little-explored but very real issue of AI replacing intimate personal relationships. Virtual reality opens the doors to everything from entertainment reaching new levels of immersion to face-to-face interactions, meetings, and even family gatherings, regardless of the miles separating people. But it also comes with the very real risk of people choosing virtual worlds over real life, replacing themselves with an avatar based on their idealized version of themselves. It can feel real enough that it's easy to ignore the fact that the only interactions in this virtual world are between façades.
The source of the most dangerous technology has remained the same for most of human history, probably because it has always had the largest budget—and that is military technology. Even here, advances introduce entirely new levels of danger, where the atom bomb has become just one of several weapons that could end mankind.
But I chose the topic for this first issue for several reasons: the ability of this technology to have major implications on all the other technologies I've mentioned, the pace at which it is progressing, and the very real concerns that come with it. However, my primary reason for choosing this topic is that while people are familiar with the general concept, outside of the labs where its development is taking place, people seem completely unaware of just how deep scientists are into this uncharted territory.
I’m talking about where life meets machine—the point where the lines between the biological and the artificial are not just blurred, they’re rapidly becoming entirely erased.
Human Stem Cells Used to Create Lab-Grown Brain Tissue, Now Being Used for Organoid Intelligence (OI)...
The human brain can rapidly process massive amounts of data, and brain cells also require less energy to do the work. It turns out when these cells are given data, they return data as well. This has scientists now working towards a new kind of computer processor, one powered by the neurons we have in our brains instead of silicon.
Lab-Grown Brains:
The stem cells can come from a number of sources, one popular source for researchers are the previously-discarded foreskin from circumcised infants. These cells can can basically be re-programmed to become stem cells. Stem cells can be thought of as a human cell that hasn't yet been told what it should become, it can turn into tissue, skin, organs, bone - this is when OI researchers are able guide these cells to become neurons, by putting them in a culture dish with already formed neurons, the neurons secrete molecules that (for lack of better words) tricks the stem cell in to thinking it is supposed to help grow a human brain. Done repeatedly, and eventually you have a lab grown brain.
This image shows a lab-grown mini brain created by Cortical Labs, which
learned to play the video game 'pong'.
Organoid Intelligence represents a new frontier, utilizing lab-grown brain organoids in order to accomplish some sort of computational task. While artificial intelligence today depends on silicon chips and machine-learning algorithms, OI would exploit inherent biological neuron capabilities for information processing and storage. The idea is that self-organizing, adaptive brain-like structures might be far more powerful and flexible for computer systems today, even opening new routes for information processing and cognitive studies.
Controversy
The largest concern with Organoid Intelligence is the eventuality of such brain organoids becoming conscious or sentient. Currently, scientists agree that so far, the organoids used in research are too simple to become conscious.
However, as these systems become more complex, and lab grown 'mini-brains' are no longer 'mini' - these artificially constructed brains could develop the the capacity to feel or, worse, think.
This Tech is Classified as 'Wetware'...
Wetware is our human 'hardware' - the parts of human biology able to process data, such as the brain and central nervous system. Wetware, in more advanced contexts, embraces also engineered or synthetic biological constructs merging the natural, real capabilities of the brain with advanced technology.
Controversy
Wetware falls into that gray area between biology and technology, begging questions of autonomy, human identity, and the ethics involved in manipulating living systems for technological ends. Some critics see it as the commodification of life or reducing human beings to mere components of larger machine-driven systems. The most heated debates will continue to revolve around privacy and control—are these systems vulnerable to being hacked or manipulated? What might happen when biological and digital components have become so intertwined as to be inseparable?
What's Next?
Wetware systems are here, and just weeks ago, became accessible to people outside of research labs when a Swiss company announced the world's first 'neuroplatform' where a 4-Organoid biocomputer can be accessed for a $500/month fee.
Now that it's here, the future of wetware is about increasing its capabilities, by growing larger networks of lab-grown neutrons. The successive stages of development into brain-computer interfaces will be advanced neuroprosthetics, neural interfaces that WOULD enable real-time interaction between the activity of a brain and machine learning algorithms. Among other things, this might have serious implications from both the medical and enhancement ends, pushing us toward a world where thoughts can directly control computers—and conceivably vice versa.
Neural Dust: Tiny Sensors Inside Your Brain
Neural Dust is formed from micro-sized, wirelessly powered sensors that can be implanted in the human body and, more particularly, inside the brain, for the perception and manipulation of neural activity. These speck-of-dust-sized particles operate on the power provided by external ultrasound to send information about real-time brain activity to the outside world. Some of the other potential uses of Neural Dust include the treatment of various neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, and deeper brain-computer interfacing that could enable people to control machines with their minds.
Controversy
The very notion of dust-sized sensors nestled inside our bodies or brains conjures up certain immediate implications of privacy and self-governance. That such sensors may, in fact, be capable of monitoring brain activity and maybe even altering it opens up a Pandora's box of ethical considerations: who does the information belong to, and what are the safeguards against misuse or surveillance? In theory, Neural Dust might allow for highly invasive monitoring; it could be a tool for government overreach or corporate exploitation. There are also medical risks since the long-term effects of having foreign objects implanted in the body—let alone the brain—are not yet fully understood.
What's Next?
But despite these cautions, researchers forge ahead. The next generation of Neural Dust sensors will be even smaller and could, in theory, be used to monitor individual neurons and directly respond with artificial intelligence. Applications could range from advanced medical treatments to human augmentation and more: the direct integration of the brain with the machinery around it. At every single step, there will be the need to discuss exhaustively privacy, consent, safety, and security.
In Closing...
Organoid Intelligence, Wetware, and Neural Dust are only the very cutting edges of technologies where biology and computing meet. While such technologies have the power to disrupt businesses, from medicine to artificial intelligence, by providing never-before-imagined capabilities, they also face us with a completely new world of ethical dilemmas and beg questions about our stance toward technology, biology, and our perceived sense of self.
The crazy thing is, this still barely scratches the surface. But the goal isn’t to cover everything there is to know, but instead to cover what you need to know to stay informed, aware, and ready for how emerging new technologies can shape our world - and our lives.
Stay tuned for more as we continue to explore the edge of innovation.
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Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
