Bundle of human neurons hooked to silicon learns to stumble through Doom

A clump of living human brain cells wired into a silicon chip has answered the internet's most important computing question: yes, it can run Doom.

Australian biotech outfit Cortical Labs has shown off its CL1 "biological computer" controlling the classic 1993 shooter using roughly 200,000 living human neurons grown on a microelectrode array. Software translates what's happening in the game into electrical signals that the cells can respond to.

The neurons sit on a chip and are kept alive in a nutrient bath while electrodes both stimulate them and listen for their responses. Gameplay is converted into patterns of electrical activity. When something appears on the left side of the screen, electrodes zap the corresponding region of the neural culture. The cells fire back their own electrical spikes, which the system interprets as actions such as moving, turning, or firing Doomguy's weapon.

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