I'm Scared About Biological Computing (kuber.studio)

In a thought-provoking blog post, an AI enthusiast expresses unease over recent advancements in biological computing, particularly a project where lab-grown neurons learned to play the video game DOOM. The author highlights a growing concern that the same mathematical principles behind artificial intelligence, such as matrix multiplication and probabilistic modeling, are now being applied to biological neural networks. This crossover raises profound ethical and philosophical questions regarding consciousness and sentience, as the 200,000 neurons used in the experiment surpass the neural counts of simple organisms like jellyfish. The significance for the AI/ML community lies in the implications of using biological systems to perform tasks traditionally managed by silicon-based computing. The potential for biocomputers to outperform traditional AI in terms of information storage and retrieval efficiency adds a layer of urgency to the discourse on ethical guidelines in AI development. As commercial interests could drive further experimentation, questions emerge about the moral responsibilities associated with creating systems that may possess the capacity for perception, paralleling debates on the consciousness of AI. The blog serves as a call for deeper conversations on these uncharted territories in AI and bioengineering.