Dec 21, 2021 06:42 PM
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/brain-or...sciousness
EXCERPTS: . . . Brain organoids are tiny, lab-grown bundles of neurons, derived from human stem cells, that display various properties of the developing human brain. In medicine, they provide much-needed biological models that enable us to research conditions, such as Zika-induced microcephaly, that affect brain development.
Brain organoids are also valuable for basic neuroscience research. There is much to be discovered about how the brain bootstraps itself into existence from its underlying genetic instructions and about how, once built, its circuitry supports the complex activity patterns which underlie brain functions. Organoids provide a window onto developing neural circuitry that can be observed and manipulated at will.
A big question that looms large as this research continues into 2022 is whether brain organoids can be “conscious.” After all, they are made out the same basic material as human brains—neurons—rather than the silicon logic gates of AI. There are already intriguing signs that some building blocks may be in place...
[...] We are likely to see more examples like this next year. Will we also see evidence of organoid consciousness? The challenge here is that we are still not sure how to define consciousness in a fully formed human brain, let alone in a small cluster of cells grown in a lab. But there are some promising avenues to explore. One prominent candidate for a brain signature of consciousness is its response to a perturbation...
[...] The ethical implications of this are obvious. A conscious organoid might consciously suffer and we may never recognize its suffering since it cannot express anything. Discussions are already underway to lay out ethical and regulatory guidelines for organoid research. These discussions have parked the question of organoid consciousness for now. Next year we may see evidence that we need to take up the issue again... (MORE - missing details)
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/vMYnzTn0G1k
EXCERPTS: . . . Brain organoids are tiny, lab-grown bundles of neurons, derived from human stem cells, that display various properties of the developing human brain. In medicine, they provide much-needed biological models that enable us to research conditions, such as Zika-induced microcephaly, that affect brain development.
Brain organoids are also valuable for basic neuroscience research. There is much to be discovered about how the brain bootstraps itself into existence from its underlying genetic instructions and about how, once built, its circuitry supports the complex activity patterns which underlie brain functions. Organoids provide a window onto developing neural circuitry that can be observed and manipulated at will.
A big question that looms large as this research continues into 2022 is whether brain organoids can be “conscious.” After all, they are made out the same basic material as human brains—neurons—rather than the silicon logic gates of AI. There are already intriguing signs that some building blocks may be in place...
[...] We are likely to see more examples like this next year. Will we also see evidence of organoid consciousness? The challenge here is that we are still not sure how to define consciousness in a fully formed human brain, let alone in a small cluster of cells grown in a lab. But there are some promising avenues to explore. One prominent candidate for a brain signature of consciousness is its response to a perturbation...
[...] The ethical implications of this are obvious. A conscious organoid might consciously suffer and we may never recognize its suffering since it cannot express anything. Discussions are already underway to lay out ethical and regulatory guidelines for organoid research. These discussions have parked the question of organoid consciousness for now. Next year we may see evidence that we need to take up the issue again... (MORE - missing details)
