Could human brain cells linked to computers be the future of AI?
Hello, and welcome to our Friday rundown of the biggest news stories covered by New Scientist this week. Today, I’m worrying about brains in a dish, laughing at long dinosaur necks and trying not to get too creeped out by an aggressive cousin of black widow spiders.
Human brain cells used as living AIs to solve mathematical equations
It’s hard to read this story, in which researchers have hooked human brain cells up to a computer and used them to solve complex equations, without feeling a little bit uncomfortable. To be clear, the cells aren’t sentient in any way – they are small blobs called organoids that can only develop to a limited size – but plans to scale up these experiments to larger clumps of brain matter could start pushing ethical boundaries. Still, it’s difficult to argue with the fact that the human brain is a more efficient medium for computation than silicon.
I was also tickled by this story showing that human players are improving at Go since AI players became the best in the world – perhaps there is hope yet. I’ve recently started playing Go, and even though I’ve barely scratched its surface, I can see it is a really fascinating game.
Brown widow spiders are killing off black widows in the southern US
Being mildly arachnophobic, I do my best to avoid stories about spiders. New Scientist readers clearly feel differently, however, as this one was our most popular article this week. I hadn’t heard of brown widows before, but I’ve now learned they are a more aggressive cousin of the infamous black widows. Thankfully, they are much less venomous towards humans than black widows are, so this is a spider-versus-spider battle we can happily sit back and watch.
Oldest ichthyosaur fossil hints they evolved before mass extinction
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Sticking with the animal theme, readers have also been keen to learn more about ichthyosaurs, ancient fish-like reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs. A newly analysed fossil suggests that these creatures actually evolved before the dinosaurs, as it dates back to before the end-Permian mass extinction, a major ecological disaster 252 million years ago. This extinction is thought to have made space for the dinosaurs to arise, and for ichthyosaurs to evolve from land-dwellers, but now that picture may need a rethink.
While I’m on the subject of dinosaurs, you must check out the artwork that accompanies this story about one that had a neck six times longer than a giraffe’s – a simply ridiculous creature!
More from New Scientist
- I’m going to Paris in a couple of weeks, so was interested to read our story about how the 2019 fire at Notre Dame has since revealed that the cathedral’s advanced construction methods made it the Empire State Building of its time.
- The news that Venus is volcanically active reminds me of a piece I wrote, almost nine years ago now, about the comparative lack of attention we pay to our “evil twin” planet, instead favouring missions to Mars.
- Our cover story in the magazine this week is a Stone Age mystery, about cave art of mutilated hands that some people believe may be the earliest written language. It’s well worth your time – and if you fancy seeing some prehistoric art for yourself, why not take a look at our upcoming tours of some of the world’s oldest cave paintings?
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Jacob Aron , News Editor
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery | Surgical Techniques | Clinical Research: Oral Premalignant Disorders and Oral Cancer | Scientific Writing | Comprehensive Patient Care
1yWhen I heard the word " Artificial Intelligence " for the first time I thought this involves removing the brain from the skull and fitting the computer in the cranium. You cannot blame me for such outrageous thoughts because I am an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and we always think surgery is the answer to all the problems humanity faces. After reading the article "Could human brain cells linked to computers be the future of AI? " I think I was at least partially right. You may not replace the brain for the computer but at least link brain cells to the computer! Your comments are most welcome. Dr. Subodh Nanavati.