Biological computing

What If We Stopped Using GPUs? | YC Paper Club

What If We Stopped Using GPUs? | YC Paper Club

A session on alternative compute covering the argument for abandoning backpropagation in favor of zero-order optimization and sharded training, optical computing that performs diffusion-style image generation with propagating light, the state of neuromorphic computing in 2026, and how cultured human neurons learned to play Doom through reinforcement learning.

State of the Art of Biological Computing • Ewelina Kurtys & Charles Humble • GOTO 2026

State of the Art of Biological Computing • Ewelina Kurtys & Charles Humble • GOTO 2026

Dr. Ewelina Kurtys of FinalSpark discusses the ambitious goal of building computers from living neurons, aiming for a 1-million-fold increase in energy efficiency over digital systems. The conversation delves into the technical challenges of neural encoding and plasticity, the use of brain organoids, and the profound ethical and philosophical questions surrounding determinism and consciousness in biological hardware.