After mapping a fruit fly's brain, engineers made it play Doom and Mario 64 (www.pcgamer.com)

Google has successfully mapped the entire brain and central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly, reconstructing over 166,000 neurons into 3D models with the help of AI that synthesized millions of 2D images. This groundbreaking achievement is heralded as a significant milestone in neuroscience, potentially accelerating our understanding of brain functions. Just days after the announcement, engineers began experimenting with this digital fly brain, successfully training it to play classic video games like Doom and Super Mario 64, with live demonstrations available online. The endeavor demonstrates innovative applications of AI and reinforcement learning, where the fly's neural activity is mapped to game controls. For instance, in Doom, sensory neurons corresponding to game frames guide its movements, while in Beat Saber, the fly receives training to react to stimuli through reinforcement techniques. Although the fly's performance is amateurish, these projects pave the way for future research on neural processing and could one day lead to replicating more complex brains, possibly even human cognition. This captivating blend of neuroscience and gaming not only highlights rapid advancements in AI technologies but also sparks curiosity about the implications for brain-computer interfaces and AI-driven models of intelligence.