What Is It like to Be a Brain Organoid? Phenomenal Consciousness in a Biological Neural Network.

A biologically inspired neural network (BNN) made from human cortical cells learned to predict a digital ball's trajectory and move a paddle, with performance improving as sensory information increased. Among theories of neural correlates of consciousness, only Information Integration Theory (IIT) allows for the possibility that such a BNN could be conscious, because its Φ value is greater than zero. IIT holds that any system capable of integrating information has some degree of phenomenal consciousness. The real-time neural activity responding to environmental stimuli, together with the pattern of increased information density leading to better performance, suggests the BNN could be conscious, raising psychological, philosophical, and ethical questions.

Study at a glance

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.