A recent study published in the journal Neuron set out to investigate “how the brain learns, and how to make computers more intelligent.” The team of researchers took a thumb size dish filled with nutrients and placed a layer of living neurons to grow on a silicon chip linked to a computer, which had the game Pong. The computer would send electrical signals to the cells and, at first, “the cells didn’t understand the signals coming from the computer, or know what signals to send the other direction. They also had no reason to play the game. So the scientists tried to motivate the cells using electrical stimulation: a nicely organized burst of electrical activity if they got it right. When they got it wrong, the result was a chaotic stream of white noise.” This worked. The cells started to learn the correct electrical activity that would move the paddle and hit the ball. This is a remarkable discovery as the amount of human brain cells was less than the brain of a cockroach and it could help to make computers more intelligent.
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Brain Cells in a Dish Learn How to Play Pong
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