In Australia, the development of the Dishbrain biochip is of great interest to the military. Combined with AI, this human-brain cell-powered chip could revolutionize machine learning and create true autonomous killer robots that think like humans.
Artificial intelligence and robots will be at the center of future conflicts. More than cyborgs, we will no doubt see autonomous killer robots equipped with semi-biological artificial intelligence. It will help them learn better from their combat experiences to refine their decisions in the face of new situations. And it’s not really science fiction anymore, since there’s already a computer chip that mixes human and animal brain cells and microelectrodes. This chip, developed by Monash University in Australia, is called Dishbrain. It consists of 800,000 human and mouse brain cells that were cultured in a laboratory in an electrode bath. Last year, this system could teach itself to play Pong in five minutes. Still a long way from the killer robot that thinks like a human, the activity of these brain cells could be both read and stimulated with electrical signals. To reinforce their learning, the cells were rewarded with a pleasant stimulus when they successfully hit the ball.
Biochips to improve robotic thinking
By combining this system with AI, this semi-biological chip could revolutionize machine learning. Machines could then learn new skills, using their old experiences to learn from them and tweak their responses to new situations. Likewise, with this capacity, these chips could make processing, memory management, and power more efficient. This artificial intelligence, capable of learning like humans, could be used for anything related to autonomous vehicles, autonomous vehicles, drones, drones, and robots. A capability of great interest to the military, and in particular to the Australian Defence, which has just funded this research program conducted in collaboration with Melbourne start-up Cortical Labs. This investment will now allow the lab to change the size of the chip, with the ultimate goal of replacing silicon-silicon chips with their biological equivalent. For the country, the results of this work could give Australia a significant strategic advantage in many areas, from the military to brain-machine interfaces to pharmaceutical research.