Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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I wrote Python code that ran on 800,000 living human neurons - real biological cells grown on a chip in a lab in Melbourne, Australia, rented over the cloud. This isn't a thought experiment. Cortical Labs shipped an actual SDK, and in this video I install it, record real neural activity, and train the cells to adapt to my code in a closed loop. Then we talk about what it means: a new computing substrate, the wild energy economics, and the ethics window that's open right now.
You can build this today — the SDK is on PyPI, the simulator is free, and the same code runs on real neurons if you have cloud access.
🧠 Try it yourself:
• Cortical Labs SDK (free simulator): corticallabs.com
• pip install cl-sdk
⏱️ Chapters
0:00 800,000 brain cells are running my code right now
0:24 Wait — what did Cortical Labs actually build?
1:17 DishBrain: when neurons learned to play Pong
1:46 Why living cells crush silicon (the energy gap is insane)
2:13 The ethics question nobody's asking yet
2:40 CL1: wetware-as-a-service ($35k to own, $300/week to rent)
3:07 How it works: the multi-electrode array
3:55 The life-support system keeping the cells alive
4:14 The SDK: real hardware OR a free simulator
4:49 The research problem every dev hits (and the fix)
6:06 Let's build your first biological computer program
6:39 Recording a baseline from living neurons
7:04 The closed loop: making neurons adapt to my code
7:36 Training neurons to PREDICT (the real experiment)
8:42 3 takeaways: substrate, energy, ethics
9:35 You can build this today
9:57 Your challenge — build one and I'll respond
💬 Build your own closed loop and drop it in the comments — I'll respond to the most interesting ones with a follow-up video.
🔎 This video was sponsored by SerpApi — the real-time search API I used to pull every Google Scholar paper and news source for this research (zero captchas):
serpapi.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=sirajraval_may_2026
👉 Subscribe for hands-on deep dives into the frontier of AI and computing — new build every week.
📬 Business inquiries: hello@sirajraval.com
📲 Follow
X: https://x.com/sirajraval
Instagram: instagram.com/sirajraval
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sirajraval
#BiologicalComputing #CorticalLabs #Neurons #AI #Python #Wetware #DishBrain #FutureOfComputing
Get started with SerpApi using 250 free credits: serpapi.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=sirajraval_may_2026
(Scan the on-screen QR code or use the link above)
I wrote Python code that ran on 800,000 living human neurons - real biological cells grown on a chip in a lab in Melbourne, Australia, rented over the cloud. This isn't a thought experiment. Cortical Labs shipped an actual SDK, and in this video I install it, record real neural activity, and train the cells to adapt to my code in a closed loop. Then we talk about what it means: a new computing substrate, the wild energy economics, and the ethics window that's open right now.
You can build this today — the SDK is on PyPI, the simulator is free, and the same code runs on real neurons if you have cloud access.
🧠 Try it yourself:
• Cortical Labs SDK (free simulator): corticallabs.com
• pip install cl-sdk
⏱️ Chapters
0:00 800,000 brain cells are running my code right now
0:24 Wait — what did Cortical Labs actually build?
1:17 DishBrain: when neurons learned to play Pong
1:46 Why living cells crush silicon (the energy gap is insane)
2:13 The ethics question nobody's asking yet
2:40 CL1: wetware-as-a-service ($35k to own, $300/week to rent)
3:07 How it works: the multi-electrode array
3:55 The life-support system keeping the cells alive
4:14 The SDK: real hardware OR a free simulator
4:49 The research problem every dev hits (and the fix)
6:06 Let's build your first biological computer program
6:39 Recording a baseline from living neurons
7:04 The closed loop: making neurons adapt to my code
7:36 Training neurons to PREDICT (the real experiment)
8:42 3 takeaways: substrate, energy, ethics
9:35 You can build this today
9:57 Your challenge — build one and I'll respond
💬 Build your own closed loop and drop it in the comments — I'll respond to the most interesting ones with a follow-up video.
🔎 This video was sponsored by SerpApi — the real-time search API I used to pull every Google Scholar paper and news source for this research (zero captchas):
serpapi.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=sirajraval_may_2026
👉 Subscribe for hands-on deep dives into the frontier of AI and computing — new build every week.
📬 Business inquiries: hello@sirajraval.com
📲 Follow
X: https://x.com/sirajraval
Instagram: instagram.com/sirajraval
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sirajraval
#BiologicalComputing #CorticalLabs #Neurons #AI #Python #Wetware #DishBrain #FutureOfComputing
