About this episode

This episode explores the concept of biological computers made from human neurons and their implications for the future of technology and artificial intelligence.

This episode was originally reported on our podcast Reflector. You can hear this story and many more by visiting us here What if the next great leap in computing wasn't made of silicon — but of living human brain cells? Reporter Greg Warner takes us inside the lab of Hon Weng Chong, an Australian computer engineer who has built a biological computer: a device that houses actual human neurons in a petri dish, teaches them to play Pong using reward and punishment, and is now being sold to medical researchers, crypto gamers, and roboticists with very big dreams. Along the way, Andy and Greg dig into what these cells might actually feel, why the path to artificial general intelligence might run through a robot's skin rather than its brain, and what it would mean to one day stick a chip of pre-programmed neurons back into a human head. It's weird, it's a little smelly, and it might be the future. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Hon Weng Chong - CEO and founder of Cortical Labs Dr. Minas Liarokapis - CEO/CTO of Acumino Inc., Director of the New Dexterity Research Group LINKS: ⁠Cortical Labs⁠ ⁠Acumino⁠ ⁠Dishbrain Paper - In vitro neurons learn and exhibit sentience when embodied in a simulated…

More episodes of The Last Invention

• Sam Altman’s Attacker, In His Own Words · April 15, 2026 · 20 min
• The AI Skeptics · February 20, 2026 · 1h 16m
• “Build the AI Wall” with Steve Bannon · January 27, 2026 · 52 min
• Ezra Klein on the Uncertain Politics of A.I. · December 19, 2025 · 1h 2m
• EP 8: The Accelerationists · November 20, 2025 · 54 min
• EP 7: The Scouts · November 13, 2025 · 55 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Last Invention podcast page.