FinalSpark, the company behind this innovation, refers to the project as "wetware computing" and says that using living neurons for AI processing consumes exponentially less power than traditional methods. Organoids are three-dimensional clusters of tissue created from stem cells. These clusters can self-organize into 3D structures that closely mimic the shape and function of organs in living organisms. The system operates similarly to a standard computer chip, sending and receiving signals through neurons that act like circuits. The organoids are trained with dopamine, which rewards the network when tasks are performed correctly. Researchers report that this living computer consumes more than one million times less energy than current digital processors. Dr. Fred Jordan, the CEO and co-founder of FinalSpark, says that fusing biology, computing, and electronics is the only pathway forward for advanced computing. “This is the future because there is no other possible future. We are running into a wall with the power consumption from new AI systems,” he explained. “It’s not sustainable at all.” Jordan stressed that because of the limited power needed, using human brain organoids in computing would use virtually no energy and cause no environmental impact. “The most obvious application of what we’re doing is cloud computing. Not just any kind of cloud computing, but cloud computing specifically for running artificial neural networks,” he said. “For the end user, the difference is not going to be striking. It’s going to have the same functionality, but it’s not going to have any ecological impact.” While wetware computing has long been considered the stuff of science fiction, Jordan notes that interest in biocomputing has surged over the past year. Currently, three companies are working on this technology. FinalSpark began work on the project about five years ago. Initially, the lifetime of the Neuroplatform was only a few hours. Now, the brain organoids last around 100 days. The company’s Neuroplatform is now open to other researchers, who can access it with a $500 per month subscription.A Swiss technology firm has introduced the world’s first "living computer," an artificial intelligence bioprocessing platform powered by 16 lab-grown human brain organoids—miniature versions of human organs.
