An interview with Dr. Ewelina Kurtys, strategy advisor to Final Spark, exploring the frontier of biological computing. Final Spark is building computers from living neurons, claiming they are 1 million times more energy efficient than digital hardware. The conversation covers the current state of their prototypes (organoids of ~10,000 neurons on electrodes), key challenges including neural signal encoding, plasticity-induced experimental variability, and keeping neurons alive (currently ~3 months in lab conditions). The discussion also touches on the potential to dramatically reduce AI inference costs, the 10-year roadmap to a general-purpose biocomputer, ethical questions around consent and consciousness, and how this research could yield medical side-benefits.
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