{
  "id": 555029,
  "title": "AI Is Dead. Organoids Are Alive",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/ai-is-dead-organoids-are-alive-555029",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-11T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Wired Science",
    "slug": "wired-science",
    "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/organoids-lab-grown-brains-neural-networks/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "AI is dead, but organoids are alive. These small clusters of human brain cells are not as complex as our own minds, but they can send and receive electrical signals, even producing brain waves similar to those in premature babies. Scientists are using these organoids to test the effects of diseases, toxins, and new drugs. However, they're also exploring more exciting possibilities. At the University of San Diego, organoids are guiding robotic explorers through mazes while receiving psychedelic treatments. In a lab at Johns Hopkins, they're forming the basis for innovative biocomputing systems. In Melbourne, a startup is using organoids to play video games like Pong and Doom.\n\nResearchers are focusing on the source of intelligence, growing these living neurons in a dish. They believe artificial intelligence won't be artificial anymore; it will be built from living cells. The Geisel sunken lobby was adorned with scientific images, including one of a clump of human brain cells reaching out with axons, longing to connect with others. Neurons desire to link up and form synapses, creating the basis of thought. In a petri dish, they'll multiply and interlink until they form autonomous tissue.\n\nAt UCSD's Sanford Stem Cell Institute, tens of thousands of brain organoids are being created. Brazilian developmental biologist Alysson Muotri and his team have studied \"Neanderthalized\" brain organoids and sent them to the International Space Station to study the effects of cosmic radiation on astronaut brains. However, Muotri is most passionate about studying autism in brain organoids derived from the cells of autistic donors, including his own 18-year-old son. By studying these organoids, he hopes to understand the differences in neural development between autistic and neurotypical children.\n\nCreating brain organoids requires just a sample of skin, blood, hair, or teeth. The adult cells are reverted to an embryonic state using special proteins. These induced pluripotent stem cells can become tear gland organoids, heart organoids, or brain organoids. The transformation of stem cells into neurons and brain tissue happens in full view, offering a unique window into the black box of in utero brain development. In theory, scientists could study how dividing cells come together to create a mind, forming a person or even another individual like Claire L. Evans, who is sitting with Muotri to study the brain organoids.",
  "summary": "Mini human brains are being grown in labs all over the world. Soon, they could outthink neural networks.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Wired",
        "title": "AI Is Dead. Organoids Are Alive",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/ai-is-dead-organoids-are-alive",
        "published": "2026-08-11T10:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}