Scientists race to make 'living' computers powered by human cells (www.bbc.co.uk)

A small but growing field of "biocomputing" researchers are building computers out of living human cells—so-called "wetware"—by turning stem cells into neural organoids, attaching them to electrodes, and using electrical stimulation and recording to probe and (eventually) train them. Swiss startup FinalSpark showed lab-grown organoids derived from donated human skin stem cells that, after months of maturation, produce EEG-like activity when stimulated through electrodes; they can survive up to about four months. Teams have already elicited simple stimulus–response patterns and occasional bursts of activity, including intense pre-death spikes, highlighting both functional promise and biological unpredictability. The significance for AI/ML is twofold: biologically based networks could offer new learning substrates that mimic neuronal plasticity and potentially operate at far lower energy budgets than conventional silicon—though proponents emphasize wetware will likely complement, not replace, silicon AI. Major technical hurdles remain, especially vascularization and nutrient delivery (organoids lack blood vessels), reliability and lifespan, and the interpretability of emergent activity. Other groups (Cortical Labs, Johns Hopkins) are pursuing related demos and disease-modeling uses, suggesting near-term impact in neuroscience and drug discovery rather than mainstream AI infrastructure. The field raises practical, ethical and engineering questions as researchers balance sci‑fi aspirations with slow, careful validation.