Bringing Science Fiction to the Present

Organic components may seem the stuff of science fiction novels, but cultured brain cells grown inVitro may be the key to a new realm of AI.

“In an Atlanta lab, minibrains in dishes can control robots and computer-simulated animals. They may provide a simple model to study how the brain changes as it learns. Georgia Tech researcher Steve Potter calls his biological-mechanical hybrids Neurally Controlled Animats. Each Animat’s “brain” consists of cultured rat neurons growing on a plate of electrodes. This live culture is linked to an artificial body—either a robotic animal or a computer-simulated one.”

Read more:
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/nov/minibrains-dishes/

Also check out the biotech driven drawings.