A lifeless hydrogel blob can play Pong

Inspired by recent advancements in brain organoid systems, researchers have designed a simple hydrogel-electrode array that not only can "play" Pong, but improve its gameplay over time. Debuted by Atari in 1972, Pong is one of the most rudimentary but influential video games of all time. Although it just features two player paddles and a pixelated "ball" ricocheting between them, it still serves as a helpful benchmark for training not just artificial intelligence and neural networks, but also organoid intelligence, or OI. Grown from stem cells into rudimentary "brains," these OI systems may one day provide promising alternatives to more traditional hardware. But both AI and OI are extremely complex, costly industries--what if much simpler arrays could achieve similar results?