Gaming Brain Cells: 200,000 Lab-Grown Neurons Successfully Play Video Games

Australian biotechnology startup Cortical Labs has successfully trained clusters of lab-grown human brain cells to play the 1993 video game Doom, marking a remarkable step in Synthetic Biological Intelligence. The neurons, derived from adult donor skin or blood samples reprogrammed into stem cells, were placed on an electrode array with 59 electrodes inside a custom platform called CL1. This system, equipped with an internal life support setup, regulates temperature, gas levels, and waste, keeping the neurons alive for up to six months. Using the company’s biological operating system biOS, software translates in-game visuals into electrical stimulation patterns that the neurons can respond to, generating movements, firing actions, and adaptive behavior in real time. While the system currently performs at a beginner level, the neurons demonstrate learning through feedback signals, adapting to rewards for successful actions. This experiment builds on Cortical Labs’ earlier 2022 work with Pong, but training human neurons for Doom represents a more complex milestone, sparking both scientific excitement and ethical discussions about the future of biological computing.