What Is It like to Be a Brain Organoid? Phenomenal Consciousness in a Biological Neural Network.
Ivanna Montoya, Daniel Montoya
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) September 13, 2023 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3390/e25091328 via PubMed
Summary
Three-dimensional multicellular structures from human pluripotent stem cells exhibit electrical activity akin to EEG. A biologically inspired neural network (BNN) with human cortical cells demonstrated the ability to learn tasks, such as predicting a digital ball's trajectory. The study discusses Neural Correlates of Consciousness theories and concludes that Information Integration Theory is the only framework suggesting the BNN could possess consciousness, as indicated by a Φ value greater than 0, reflecting real-time neural responses to stimuli.
Study at a glance
| Population | biologically inspired neural network expressing human cortical cells |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Information Integration Theory suggests that the biologically inspired neural network could exhibit consciousness due to its ability to integrate information. |
Abstract
It has been shown that three-dimensional self-assembled multicellular structures derived from human pluripotent stem cells show electrical activity similar to EEG. More recently, neurons were successfully embedded in digital game worlds. The biologically inspired neural network (BNN), expressing human cortical cells, was able to show internal modification and learn the task at hand (predicting the trajectory of a digital ball while moving a digital paddle). In other words, the system allowed to read motor information and write sensory data into cell cultures. In this article, we discuss Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC) theories, and their capacity to predict or even allow for consciousness in a BNN. We found that Information Integration Theory (IIT) is the only NCC that offers the possibility for a BNN to show consciousness, since the Φ value in the BNN is >0. In other words, the recording of real-time neural activity responding to environmental stimuli. IIT argues that any system capable of integrating information will have some degree of phenomenal consciousness. We argue that the pattern of activity appearing in the BNN, with increased density of sensory information leading to better performance, implies that the BNN could be conscious. This may have profound implications from a psychological, philosophical, and ethical perspective.