More efficient than AI

Italy tests biocomputer with brain cells

Researchers are already working on systems in which 3D cultures of human brain cells serve as hardware for a computer.

(Bild: APA Pool/dpa/Oliver Berg)

It sounds like science fiction, but it could soon become reality. So-called organoid intelligence should make it possible for brain cells to drive a biocomputer. The development is still in the early stages, but raises many questions - especially of an ethical nature.

It is still a vision, but researchers at the University of Bologna are working on systems in which 3D cultures of human brain cells serve as hardware. "The research team's approach is about making AI more brain-like. How artificial intelligence can develop in the future and even achieve possible self-awareness are questions that we will have to deal with more and more frequently in the future," emphasized Claudio Anastasio, an expert in neural networks and artificial intelligence, at a conference entitled "Artificial intelligence: opportunities and risks" organized at the headquarters of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in Rome.

Computers made from biological material
The new biocomputers will be able to guarantee enormous performance at very low energy costs. "Future computers will no longer be made of silicon, but of biological material. They will be structured in such a way that they resemble the synapses of the human brain. At this point, we don't yet know how these machines will behave in terms of self-awareness. In a few years' time, people will have to grapple with the concept of artificial self-awareness. Because there are many ethical questions associated with this," Anastasio, President of the MinErmes association, told APA.

Many ethical questions still unanswered
The development of artificial intelligence raises many considerations for future generations who will be born into a world in which AI will be ubiquitous. "How will the perception of human limits change? Are we ready to face the ethical, bioethical and social challenges that this entails?" is the question posed by the experts in Rome. Because in the future, we could increasingly see a world in which reality merges with the virtual, in which digital avatars commit crimes and computers lead their own lives.

Lots of potential, but no laws yet
"AI offers amazing possibilities, especially for medicine and neuroscience, but its use in the healthcare sector and the possible legal consequences in the event of a medical error are issues that will keep experts very busy in the coming years," said Italian neurologist Maria Grazia Marciani, President of the Ethics Committee of the Lazio Region.

According to the neurologist, AI enables fast and precise diagnoses. But here too, there are many unforeseeable scenarios that are not yet regulated by law. Much of the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure will soon have to be revised to take account of the completely new situations that artificial intelligence brings with it.

Lawyer and jurist Silvia Carosini wonders how the law can be applied in a world without physical boundaries. "For example, if in the future an avatar commits a crime that would be considered sexual assault in the real world, who would be responsible? In a world in which young people are increasingly isolating themselves and, above all, because of the misuse of social media, these aspects must also be taken into account in the criminal justice system," she emphasized.