Sakaguchi explains that even though the brain organoids are showing signs of spontaneous activity, they are unlikely to develop consciousness because they lack the ability to be stimulated, unlike living brains attached to a body that senses the world.
“It is very difficult to know they are thinking or feeling,” says Sakaguchi. “But we think cerebral organoids without input and output system will not have consciousness since consciousness require subjective experience.”
Put the brain organoids into a living body, however, and the possibilities shift. Sakaguchi admits he would worry that a cerebral organoid could develop consciousness if it is transplanted into an animal, thus giving it the necessary “input/output” systems.
For now, the organoids remain small - too small to be worried about - and we know that consciousness requires a large amount of neural integration. “One important lesson from the spinal cord and the cerebellum is that the genie of consciousness does not just appear when any neural tissue is excited,” wrote legendary neuroscientist Christof Koch, Ph.D., in Scientific American in 2018. “More is needed.”
Японские ученые вырастили искусственный человеческий мини-мозг, который хотя и не обладает сознанием (но уже обладает синхронной активностью нервных клеток), потенциально может начать осознавать, если его пересадить в тело - например, тело животного.
“It is very difficult to know they are thinking or feeling,” says Sakaguchi. “But we think cerebral organoids without input and output system will not have consciousness since consciousness require subjective experience.”
Put the brain organoids into a living body, however, and the possibilities shift. Sakaguchi admits he would worry that a cerebral organoid could develop consciousness if it is transplanted into an animal, thus giving it the necessary “input/output” systems.
For now, the organoids remain small - too small to be worried about - and we know that consciousness requires a large amount of neural integration. “One important lesson from the spinal cord and the cerebellum is that the genie of consciousness does not just appear when any neural tissue is excited,” wrote legendary neuroscientist Christof Koch, Ph.D., in Scientific American in 2018. “More is needed.”
Японские ученые вырастили искусственный человеческий мини-мозг, который хотя и не обладает сознанием (но уже обладает синхронной активностью нервных клеток), потенциально может начать осознавать, если его пересадить в тело - например, тело животного.