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The future of computing has arrived: startup unites human neurons with silicon chips to create CL1. Understand how this biological technology consumes less energy.
In Australia, the first data center with human neurons uses the CL1 system to integrate living cells with silicon chips. This innovation from the startup Cortical Labs emerges at a time of energy crisis for Artificial Intelligence, offering a model inspired by the human brain, which operates with just 20 watts of power.
By uniting the carbon of cells with the silicon of circuits, the company seeks a sustainable path for machine learning and complex pattern recognition.
New data center with human neurons
The main advantage of using organic components is resource savings. While conventional processing centers face long-term risks due to high water and electricity consumption, neurons perform decision-making tasks with remarkable efficiency.
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Although they do not yet surpass traditional standards in high-intensity calculations, these biological structures are masters of energy efficiency.
Furthermore, the technology aims to mitigate current market problems, such as:
- Resource scarcity: The increase in RAM prices and the finiteness of materials for traditional chips.
- Environmental impact: The urgent need to reduce the carbon footprint of large AI centers.
- Operating power: The use of neural networks that operate with fractions of the energy required by digital processors.
- Adaptive learning: The ability of cells to constantly remodel themselves in response to new stimuli.
The technical operation of the CL1 system
For the data center with human neurons to operate safely, researchers have developed a highly controlled environment. The neurons, derived from stem cells, are kept in a closed chamber, supplied with nutrients, and preserved at ideal temperatures.
Communication between the biological and the digital occurs through a microelectrode interface that captures cellular activity in real time. Unlike silicon, which follows rigid codes written by programmers to ensure identical results, neurons transmit signals in volatile chains.
Initially, these signals can be chaotic, but, with time and correct stimulation, neural networks begin to exhibit consistent and useful patterns for information processing. According to Live Science, each CL1 system has approximately 200,000 human neurons directly connected to the technological matrix.
Expansion and the future of carbon computing
Despite the controversies surrounding the use of biological material in computing, Cortical Labs maintains ambitious growth plans. Following the inauguration of the Australian unit, the company is already planning to open a larger-scale branch in Singapore.
The goal is to expand data generation capacity and consolidate carbon as a vital complement to silicon. Therefore, the CL1 system represents an attempt to harmonize technological progress with the planet’s limits.
With information from Aventuras na História
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