Lab-Grown "Mini-Brain" Learns Pong - Is This Biological Neural Network "Sentient"?

A leading neuroscientist claims that a pong-playing clump of about a million neurons is "sentient". What does that mean? Why did Cortical Labs teach a lab-grown brain to play pong? To study biological self-organization at the root of life, intelligence, and consciousness. And, according to their website, "to see what happens." What's next for biocomputing?



CORRECTIONS/Clarifications:
- The cells aren't directly frozen in liquid nitrogen - they are put in vials and stored in liquid nitrogen (and you can't buy them legally without credentials) https://www.atcc.org/products/pcs-201...
- The sentience of some invertebrates, like octopuses, is generally agreed upon. Prominent scientists affirmed non-human consciousness in the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness: https://philiplow.foundation/consciou...
- The "Neanderthal neurons" are human cells that are "Neanderthalized" using genetic engineering:    • CARTA: Imagination and Human Origins:...  

DISCLAIMER: The explanations in this video are those proposed by the researchers, or my opinion. We are far from understanding how brains, or even neurons, work. The free energy principle is one of many potential explanations.

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Footage from Cortical Labs:    • Visiting The Cortical Lab  
NASJAQ's interview with founder Hon Weng Chong:    • How Brain Cells in a Dish Learned to ...  
Cortical Labs website: https://corticallabs.com

Full paper on DishBrain: https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/...
Paper on the free energy principle definition of sentience: https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/22/5/516

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:36 Sentience
1:23 Self-organization
2:00 DishBrain setup
2:17 Punishment and reward
3:43 Results
4:12 Consciousness
5:04 Ethics
6:25 What’s Next