'We can't answer these questions': Neuroscientist Kenneth Kosik on whether lab-grown brains will achieve consciousness

A researcher is shown sat on a black swivel computer chair. They have their hands crossed over their lap and are looking at the camera. They are wearing a black sweatshirt, dark grey jeans, glasses and a light-grey beanie. There is lab equipment in the background. .

Brain organoids are 3D, lab-grown models designed to mimic the human brain. Scientists normally grow them from stem cells, coaxing them into forming a brain-like structure. In the past decade, they have become increasingly sophisticated and can now replicate multiple types of brain cells, which can communicate with one another.

This has led some scientists to question whether brain organoids could ever achieve consciousness. Kenneth Kosik, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, recently explored that possibility in a perspective article. Live Science spoke with Kosik about how brain organoids are made, how similar they are to human brains and why he believes that brain organoid consciousness is not likely anytime soon.