Cortical Labs’ CL1 is a biological computer, made with human neurons, that you can buy

Apple may have to step up its neural processor game. Cortical Labs has announced and put on sale its very first biological computer, the CL1. What makes it unique is its use of human neurons as part of its architecture.

You read that correctly. Human brain cells form part of the CL1 computer, allowing owners to run code on… well, us. If you were looking for further signs that the gap between human and machine is narrowing, this is it.

CL1 of those

The human neurons don’t live in isolation. They are, for lack of a better word, alive. The cells reside in a nutrient solution that overlays a traditional silicon chip and they’re operated by something Cortical Labs calls biOS. That stands for Biological Intelligence Operating System, and it’s a virtual world for these neurons to live in.

No, really. biOS “runs a simulated world and sends information directly to the neurons about their environment. As the neurons react, their impulses affect their simulated world.” The point is to create biological neural networks, leveraging the human neuron to more effectively study how the human brain works and, perhaps, improve how AI works at the same time.

The CL1 is for sale, but Cortical Labs won’t tell you the price up front. You’ll also need a lab to install it into. Even then, the neurons are only good for six months before they… well, die. Much of the computer is a life-support system for the cells you’ll deploy code to. We’re sure that won’t come back to haunt us any time soon. /s

If building your own lab for a very expensive and advanced Tamagotchi isn’t your thing, you can also get Cortical Labs to see you a subscription to its WaaS (wetware-as-a-service) offering. Because if there’s one thing more horrifying than installing stem-cell-grown human brain matter in your lab for compute reasons, it’s accessing it via the cloud.

This isn’t the first organic computer we’ve ever seen, though it’s certainly the most… nightmarish. The Glooper Computer, which uses ions and slime for processing, is positively benign by comparison.