CL1 is the first commercial computer with human brain cells

For the first time, there is a commercially available computer with a bioreactor in which human brain cells are connected to a chip and perform computing tasks. The device is called CL1 and comes from the Australian start-up Cortical Labs. In 2021, the company taught a prototype to play Pong.

Researchers can now order the devices. According to media reports, the price of a CL1 is just 35,000 US dollars, but the life expectancy of the cells is limited to “up to six months”. The brain cells were cultivated from human stem cells and are kept alive in the bioreactor by a nutrient solution. The device is said to be exceptionally energy-efficient. We are talking about just 20 watts of power. “We start with what digital AI models try to emulate by consuming enormous resources,” is the manufacturer's advertising message.

Cortical Labs has come up with the not exactly search engine-optimized name “biOS” for the operating system. This stands for “Biological Intelligence Operating System”. “It simulates a world and sends information about the environment directly to the neurons,” writes Cortical Labs. The reactions of the neurons then influence the simulated world.

For research without animal testing

The bioreactor, software, data, and touchscreen are all included in the CL1; external computers are not required. Input devices, cameras, actuators and other equipment can be connected via USB.

In the long term, Cortical Labs believes that its Biological Intelligence (also known as Organoid Intelligence) will overtake the currently popular Artificial Intelligence. The latter is simply far too inefficient, AI chips cannot keep up with human neurons. For philosophers and ethicists, this opens up a broad field with questions about consciousness, possible feelings or the rights of human cell cultures.

In the short term, researchers should be able to use CL1 to find out more about how real neurons process information. Cortical Labs sees this as an “ethically superior alternative to animal testing” that will also yield more relevant results about human brains. “Examine brain function with unprecedented clarity through biological computing technology that captures neuronal adaptability and learning in real time, revealing disease mechanisms and combined effects on cognitive abilities,” reads the promotional message.

WaaS

Over the course of the year, the Melbourne-based company also wants to offer “Wetware as a Service” (WaaS). This refers to the cloud-based use of CL1. Cortical Labs will interconnect several CL1s and rent them out for temporary remote use.

This allows researchers to use more computing capacity than with just one device. At the same time, they can try out the concept without having to order a CL1 that they might not be able to use sufficiently before the cells die.

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