Hacking the mind and body has been a long interest of mine. Scientists continue to push and break new boundaries when understanding the human body. With a deeper understanding, new and exciting opportunities are realised along with solving some of the biggest problems that humans have continuously battled through time. Advancement cannot be made without effort and there are new research projects happening all the time around the world. When novel projects are carried out, some of the more unique and perhaps even scary works come into the spotlight. Back in 2018, brain tissue was grown artificially with electrical currents resembling activity that was akin to the human brain. Artificial brain development is deemed to be a gateway that will help to understand early stages of brain disorders and perhaps even spot patterns that could uncover certain causes.
// Ethics and Potential Horrors //
Ethical practices have been debated for many years and this homegrown brain (or lab) are small versions that might be comparable to that of a developing baby. The scientists working on the organoid project had made great strides towards modelling an early stage neural network. Modelling is essential and will continue to provide deeper insight to understanding the complex brain matter. While there is no conclusive evidence that these organoid brains can emulate human brain activity, they do exhibit similar patterns to that seen within infants. Pushing scientific boundaries to new heights is a feat that does not come often but scientific projects are every cognizant of potential horrors that could arise out of further development.
// State of Consciousness//
Scientists have asserted that the mini brains have no consciousness, but further development could lead to the possibility of the brains becoming sentient. This means the brain would have a conscious state yet no body to reside in. Thinking about this matter on a personal level, it is a scary thought to think that I could be lost in my own mind, perhaps suffering for an unknown period. Concept of time would be lost, and it may even seem like an eternity and it certainly poses valid questions around how far scientists should go to understand and model the human brain.
It was stated that the project would be act if a conscious state was ever observed in the organoid brains. As technology advances, it may not too be far into the distant future that such scary events are realised.
Sources :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organoid
https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(19)30337-6