Unusual science: researchers teach neuronal cells to play Pong
Pong is not only one of the very first video games in history (but the first in an arcade machine intended for the general public), it is also THE game that is most often used in a number of tests in AI or to demonstrate potentially disruptive technologies. Thus, in April 2021, Neuralink revealed to us a monkey playing Pong… by thought! This time, it was neuronal cells taken from stem cells and placed in a petri dish that learned to play Atari’s cult game. A group of researchers from Australia and the UK have succeeded in creating an electrical system that allows neural cells to continue to grow and communicate with each other.
Once the objective was set (the cells know where the ball “sits” based on the triggering of the electrodes of neighboring cells), the group of cells called Cyborg managed to learn how to play Pong faster than an “emerging AI”. ”, Even if there are still some“ holes ”in the racket. From AI to half-biological, half-machine brain, would there be only one step?
