While we are already largely dependent on computers today, we will be much more so in the future. It is already worrying what companies like Google know about you and how AI can accelerate this process. Or what about Elon Musk’s brain implants. Yet it could be even scarier: a cyborg.
When you think of a cyborg, you probably think of the eponymous superhero from DC Comics and movies, or the Borg from Star Trek. So it sounds mostly like science fiction, but scientists at Bloomington University in the U.S. state of Indiana have now actually developed a real cyborg. The research can be found on the scientific medium Nature Electronics.
A cyborg is a term used to describe the fusion between man and machine. In Indiana, in this case, it is a combination between human and computer. Here the computer is connected to the human’s brain to make the machine think like a human.
Scientists create cyborg computer
Many scientists are all too eager to create a computer that can think like humans. This has some advantages, of course, since it can help with scientific research. On the other hand, it is also incredibly scary, because if we humans have proven anything, it is that our ideas can also have terrible consequences.
Consequently, there are many ethical concerns about developing real cyborgs. Nevertheless, the scientists from Indiana complied with all regulations.
The evolved cyborg uses only human brain tissue for its processes. This does make it less efficient than a computer using hardware and AI.
This brain tissue was grown in a laboratory. This was done by introducing pluripotent stem cells into different types of brain cells and then forming them into “3D mini-brains. These tiny brains contain structures similar to the human brain. So you can call the combination a true cyborg.
Pluripotent stem cells
Pluripotent stem cells can turn into many different types of cells in our bodies. Embryonic stem cells come from embryos, and induced pluripotent stem cells are made from normal cells that have been reprogrammed. Scientists are studying them for medical treatments and understanding diseases.
No real human brains yet, but…
So although the brain works like a real brain, it is not a real brain. They don’t have consciousness and emotions. All they do is mimic electrical signals as in our brain.
Therefore, this brain is not very powerful yet. The researchers played the sound of eight men pronouncing Japanese sounds. The computer had to identify the different men. It did so with an accuracy of 78 percent.
The cyborg computer is currently in its infancy, so it is still harmless. But with technology it may be possible in the future to combine real brains and a computer. So that goes a little further than Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain implants. And so yes, there is definitely a reason to be afraid.