Organoid Intelligence

Neuroethics 2025
Schedule
Registration

The session will investigate the emerging theoretical and ethical implications of developing brain organoids as biological hardware for AI, a novel biotechnological field known as “Organoid Intelligence” (OI). The aim is to bring together various perspectives to examine opportunities and challenges raised by this new frontier, including neuroethics, microbiology, bioethics, and philosophy of mind.

Speakers:

  • Thomas Hartung, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University (speaker)
  • Federico Zilio, Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Italy (speaker)‬
  • Vasiliki Mollaki, Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, National Commission for Bioethics & Technoethics Greece (speaker)
  • Tsutomu Sawai, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hiroshima University, Japan (speaker) 
  • Andrea Lavazza, Department of Literature, Linguistics, and Philosophy, Pegaso University, Naples, Italy (moderator)

Agenda

  1. Introduction to organoid intelligence / 5 mins
  2. Presentation by Thomas Hartung / 10 mins
  3. Presentation by Federico Zilio / 10 mins
  4. Presentation by Vasiliki Mollaki / 10 mins
  5. Presentation by Tsutomu Sawai / 10 mins
  6. Group discussion / 15 minutes

Attend

Neuroethics 2025
Friday, April 25, 2025
11:00am-12:00pm CEST
Library

This discussion is being held as part of Neuroethics 2025, the joint annual meeting of the International Neuroethics Society (INS) and Società Italiana di Neuroetica (SINe). Register for the conference to see this session in-person in Munich or to participate virtually. Virtual participants can watch the live broadcast and submit questions to the discussion. All registrants get access to the recordings before the general public.

Registration

Description

Cerebral organoids are three-dimensional cultures derived from pluripotent stem cells that can mimic aspects of the brain’s structure and function. The theoretical and practical implications of the development and use of these organoids, with related ethical issues, have been debated for the past decade (Lavazza, 2022; Mollaki, 2021; Sawai et al., 2019, 2022; Zilio, 2023; Zilio & Lavazza, 2023). In particular, recent studies have presented the possibility of harnessing the neural networks of organoids as an adaptive “reservoir computing” for outperforming current artificial intelligence capabilities, potentially reaching human-like cognitive structures (Cai et al., 2023; Hartung et al., 2024; Smirnova et al., 2023).

The panel will investigate the emerging theoretical issues and ethical implications of developing human and non-human brain organoids as biological hardware for AI, a novel biotechnological field known as “Organoid Intelligence” (OI). The aim is to promote a constructive debate to deeply understand the compatibility between cerebral organoids and artificial intelligence, to identify the potential benefits of OI and, at the same time, the limits of such research.

The panel will bring together various perspectives to examine opportunities and challenges raised by this new frontier, including neuroethics, microbiology, bioethics, and philosophy of mind. Such a multidisciplinary discussion on OI is extremely timely as it deals with the merger of two important frontier research fields: synthetic biology and AI. This emerging and rapidly evolving field requires immediate theoretical and ethical reflection to ensure responsible development aligned with fundamental human values, given the technological potential it already exhibits.

The topics and issues that will be addressed include: the theoretical and ethical implications of brain tissue manipulation for artificial intelligence and our understanding of cognition; the challenges of governance, regulation and ethics-by-design approaches for OI; the potential benefits and real-world ethical challenges in implementing and applying OI technology.

Resources

References

  1. Cai, H., Ao, Z., Tian, C., Wu, Z., Liu, H., Tchieu, J., Gu, M., Mackie, K., & Guo, F. (2023). Brain organoid reservoir computing for artificial intelligence. Nature Electronics 2023 6:12, 6(12), 1032–1039. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-023-01069-w 
  2. Hartung, T., Morales Pantoja, I. E., & Smirnova, L. (2024). Brain organoids and organoid intelligence from ethical, legal, and social points of view. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 6, 1307613. https://doi.org/10.3389/FRAI.2023.1307613/BIBTEX 
  3. Lavazza, A. (2022). Human Cerebral Organoids: Evolving Entities and their Moral Status. In H. G. Dederer & D. Hamburger (Eds.), Brain Organoids in Research and Therapy: Emerging Ethical and Legal Issues. Springer.
  4. Mollaki, V. (2021). Ethical Challenges in Organoid Use. BioTech 2021, Vol. 10, Page 12, 10(3), 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/BIOTECH10030012 
  5. Sawai, T., Hayashi, Y., Niikawa, T., Shepherd, J., Thomas, E., Lee, T. L., Erler, A., Watanabe, M., & Sakaguchi, H. (2022). Mapping the Ethical Issues of Brain Organoid Research and Application. AJOB Neuroscience, 13(2), 81–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2021.1896603 
  6. Sawai, T., Sakaguchi, H., Thomas, E., Takahashi, J., & Fujita, M. (2019). The Ethics of Cerebral Organoid Research: Being Conscious of Consciousness. Stem Cell Reports, 13(3), 440–447. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.STEMCR.2019.08.003 
  7. Smirnova, L., Caffo, B. S., Gracias, D. H., Huang, Q., Morales Pantoja, I. E., Tang, B., Zack, D. J., Berlinicke, C. A., Boyd, J. L., Harris, T. D., Johnson, E. C., Kagan, B. J., Kahn, J., Muotri, A. R., Paulhamus, B. L., Schwamborn, J. C., Plotkin, J., Szalay, A. S., Vogelstein, J. T., … Hartung, T. (2023). Organoid intelligence (OI): the new frontier in biocomputing and intelligence-in-a-dish. Frontiers in Science, 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsci.2023.1017235 
  8. Zilio, F. (2023). An ontological approach to the ethical issues of human cerebral organoids. Molecular Psychology: Brain, Behavior, and Society, 2, 17. https://doi.org/10.12688/MOLPSYCHOL.17555.1 
  9. Zilio, F., & Lavazza, A. (2023). Consciousness in a Rotor? Science and Ethics of Potentially Conscious Human Cerebral Organoids. AJOB Neuroscience, 14(2), 178–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2023.2173329

Readings

Keywords: Organoid Intelligence, Cerebral Organoids, Synthetic Biology, Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks, Technoethics, Bioethics, Responsible Development

Speakers

Thomas Hartung

Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

Federico Zilio

Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Italy

Vasiliki Mollaki

Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, National Commission for Bioethics & Technoethics Greece

Tsutomu Sawai

Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hiroshima University

Andrea Lavazza

Department of Literature, Linguistics, and Philosophy, Pegaso University, Naples, Italy
Moderator

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