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Researchers in the United States and Australia are cultivating miniature human brains from stem cells, aiming to train these biological structures to perform complex computing tasks. This groundbreaking work holds the potential for biological tissue to eventually rival or even complement artificial intelligence systems in specific applications.

These structures, known as brain organoids, are developed by converting adult cells, such as skin or blood cells, into stem cells. These are then guided to develop into clusters of neurons. While significantly simpler than a fully developed human brain, these organoids exhibit electrical activity and can be conditioned to respond to external stimuli. Scientists at UC San Diego have successfully used them to guide robots through mazes and to study neurological conditions like autism. At Johns Hopkins University, organoids are forming the basis of new biocomputing systems.

In a notable development, the Melbourne-based startup Cortical Labs has trained organoids to play the classic 1972 arcade game Pong and, more recently, the first-person shooter Doom. Cortical Labs has developed a device called the CL-1, which can sustain cultures of up to a million neurons for six months. The company envisions itself as the "Nvidia of neural computing," offering "neurons as a service." They argue that biological tissue possesses inherent advantages over silicon, including self-repair capabilities, adaptability, and superior energy efficiency.

The field received a significant boost in 2025 when the U.S. National Institutes of Health shifted its grant policy, no longer funding research that exclusively relies on animal testing. This was followed by an $87 million investment in a standardized organoid modeling center. However, significant ethical questions remain unresolved. Organoids currently exist in a regulatory gray area, and there is no consensus on whether advanced organoids could be considered sentient or possess awareness. The practical limitation on organoid size, due to the lack of a vascular system, has so far constrained the debate, though researchers are actively working on developing artificial blood vessels to overcome this hurdle, with a one-centimeter organoid being the next major target.

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neurons as a service