Last year, Monash University scientists created the "DishBrain" – a semi-biological computer chip with some 800,000 human and mouse brain cells lab-grown into its electrodes.
Demonstrating something like sentience, it learned to play Pong within five minutes.
They allowed the brain cells to act on the paddle, moving it left and right.
So if the paddle hit the ball, the cells would receive a nice, predictable stimulus.
A microscope image of neurons within DishBrain, with cells highlighted using fluorescent markers Cortical Labs The DishBrain's advanced learning capabilities, in other words, could underpin a new generation of machine learning, particularly when embodied in autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots.
"We will be using this grant," says Razi, "to develop better AI machines that replicate the learning capacity of these biological neural networks.