By Anil Nair

Humanware for computing—with artificial intelligence (AI) becoming a dominant topic of discussion, it was just a matter of time before men of science decided that human brain cells could serve us better than silicon chips.

Earlier this year, Melbourne start-up Cortical Labs launched CL1, merging stem-cell derived neurons with silicon, thus introducing synthetic bio-intelligence. This hybrid system promises to adapt and learn faster, while consuming substantially less energy than silicon-based AI. Founder and CEO Dr Hon Weng Chen explained, “We take blood or skin and transform them into stem cells, into neurons, and then use them for compute and intelligence.”

At Vevey, Swiss start-up FinalSpark Co-founder Fred Jordan firmly believes that in time, brain cells will replace the chips powering AI. “Instead of trying to mimic,” he says “let’s use the real thing.” That makes sense for two stand-out reasons—one, that neurons can be reproduced endlessly in the labs; and two, that these bio processors will be a million times more energy efficient, addressing major concerns around chip and power availability and cost. (FinalSpark’s website even has a live feed of neurons at work!).

So, what is wetware? It is the organic neural substrate that processes thought, imagination, and decisioning. It is the biological component in what is now emerging as a computing triad, the other two being hardware and software. It marks the beginning of the world seeing what researchers........

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