<h2 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="crosshead">No brainer?</h2>

The scientists stare at the screen in shock. The video game is going well - really well, considering that the player is not conscious. The game is called Pong, a 1970s tennis classic. And the player is a group of human brain cells made by scientists in a lab.

In a thought experiment of the 1970s, we are asked to imagine a human brain stored in a vat by a mad scientist. The scientist has kept the brain alive and fed virtual stimuliThings that provoke a reaction. directly into it, allowing it to experience a computer-generated world as "reality". The brain has no idea that the world it inhabits is an illusionSomething which seems true but is not. . Is this still consciousness?¹

The experiment is used to explore a host of complex ethical, philosophical and scientific questions. But some scientists say that it shows that consciousness is purely a product of brain's biology.

Most would agree that keeping a brain in a vat to simulate a false reality, or experimenting on a living brain, does not meet the requirement for scientific ethics. In fact, scientists had mostly ruled out experimenting on pre-mortemBefore death. brains at all. Then, they developed mini brains.

Mini brains, or little collections of human brain cells grown in a lab dish, were first produced in 2013. These amorphousWithout a clearly defined shape. blobs, each around the size of a peppercorn, are not much to look at, but they promise some of the greatest medical advancements of this century.

Now, researchers report that they have taught the cells to play a 1970s video game called Pong. They claim that the mini brain, or "cerebral organoid" in more technical terms, learned to play the game within five minutes with a relatively high success rate.²

There is plenty to celebrate in this story. Mini brains are used to study a host of conditions such as microcephalyA birth defect causing a baby's head to be much smaller than normal, and often their brain too. , epilepsy, dementia, motor neurone disease and autism spectrum disorder.

However, others are concerned by the lack of ethical debates accompanying this new research. Researchers will soon have to think about what to do if their experimental subjects show signs of consciousness.

Our understanding of consciousness evolves constantly, yet it remains our biggest mystery. AristotleA student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy. argued that humans have a "soul" where animals have mere instincts, but other scientists have shown that animals have many of the same neurologicalRelating to the nerves and nervous system. structures as us.³

Some accuse scientists working with consciousness of "playing god". Others would welcome further advancement in our understanding. Now, it sits on the horizon of what is possible.

Yes: Consciousness is a scientific phenomenon which will become understandable and measurable with time. There is no reason why the brains, if they continue to grow, could not become conscious in the same way a human brain does as it grows in the womb.

No: Artificial brains will never become conscious. Consciousness is an abstract, unique quality which is created by a force much bigger than humankind. Whatever else science might achieve, it cannot create a soul in the lab.

Or... It is a possibility in the future, but still a distant one. Nothing in their research proves that the brains are even sentient. We should celebrate the advancements in research that this heralds, rather than getting swamped in debates about consciousness.

Stimuli - Things that provoke a reaction.

Illusion - Something which seems true but is not.

Pre-mortem - Before death.

Amorphous - Without a clearly defined shape.

Microcephaly - A birth defect causing a baby's head to be much smaller than normal, and often their brain too.

Aristotle - A student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy.

Neurological - Relating to the nerves and nervous system.