Embryos are the new fuel for AI. Is this the future we want?

Unborn children are being harvested as an energy source to fuel rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, a development that should deeply concern everyone. In recent decades, tremendous breakthroughs in stem cell research and its applications have led to new medical treatments for diseases once thought incurable, which is generally a positive development for society. However, some novel stem cell research has crossed a bright ethical boundary, such as using embryonic stem cells to create human brains — called “organoids” — for biocomputing.

AI consumes energy at an unprecedented scale, leading to an equally unprecedented global appetite for more efficient energy sources. For instance, a simple query to ChatGPT requires approximately 10 times more energy than a typical Google search. As a result, those who use AI — which already affects most individuals and companies to some degree — are urgently seeking ways to consume less power and cut rapidly rising costs.

Nothing is truly lifesaving if it requires the destruction of unborn life.

To meet that demand, scientists have begun embracing the concept of biocomputing, which has been purely in the realm of science fiction until very recently. Biocomputing is essentially a merger between biology and computer technology. Biocomputers have already been built using a combination of lab-grown human brain tissue and electronic circuitry.

Rise of biocomputing

Swiss tech startup FinalSpark is now selling biocomputers that consist of four miniature lab-grown organoids embedded with silicon chips. FinalSpark’s co-founder Fred Jordan has said that because of the energy efficiency of these biocomputers, “computing may ultimately become an activity with no ecological footprint,” making it a poster child of the green energy movement. FinalSpark claims that its Neuroplatform product is up to a million times more energy-efficient than current computing hardware.

FinalSpark’s Neuroplatform has already been adopted for biocomputing research by universities worldwide, including the University of Michigan. Other U.S. universities are also dabbling in biocomputing. For instance, the University of Southern California received a $2 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation in 2024 to advance its biocomputing efforts.

The dark side of biocomputing

Some might find this new scientific advancement exciting and see the potential for its application in fields such as energy and medicine. Unfortunately, however, the construction of biocomputers entails an ethically dark process.

Organoids are grown from extracted human stem cells, which are then “taught” to conduct tasks through electrical stimulation or the injection of chemicals such as dopamine. When these brains perform a task as researchers intend, the organoids are “rewarded” with dopamine; if they do not, they are “punished” with electric shocks. Further, organoids only survive this process for approximately 100 days, after which new organoids are grown to replace them.

Stem cell sourcing’s dark secret

Setting aside the fact that this process essentially involves the creation, enslavement, forced experimentation, and death by torture of a life form in the name of “progress,” the sourcing process for stem cell extraction is even darker.

It is well established that human embryos have been used in stem cell research for decades, and the rise of in-vitro fertilization has made it significantly easier for researchers to access them. Unused embryos produced through IVF are often donated to universities or scientific institutions for medical research. Alarmingly, there is currently no method to track the number of embryos donated for research purposes, although studies estimate that as many as 59% of IVF patients are willing to do so.

Because we cannot track embryo disposition, we are also unable to track how many donated embryos are being used to create organoids for biocomputing. But embryos clearly are being used for this purpose.

From stem cells to ‘organoids’

A study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences illustrates the various sources of stem cells from which organoids are derived, including embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and adult stem cells.

Another study published in Frontiers in Sciencestates:

The past decade has seen a revolution in brain cell cultures, moving from traditional monolayer cultures to more organ-like, organized 3D cultures — i.e., brain organoids. These can be generated either from embryonic stem cells or from the less ethically problematic iPSC typically derived from skin samples.

Other sources corroborate the same information, and scientists seem to have few ethical qualms about using embryos for such research. Harvard Medical School bioethicist Insoo Hyun stated in the journal Cellin 2024: “Since the cognitive bar is set so high for personhood, it seems premature to worry about whether brain organoids, neurological chimeras, or embryo models deserve the same ethical protections normally afforded to persons.”

Ultimately, scientists like Hyun do not consider embryos and unborn life to be truly human because they are not yet “sentient.” As such, any experimentation with or use of them is justified.

We are faced with two problems. One is that we are creating, enslaving, and ultimately killing lab-grown human brains to power artificial intelligence. That is disturbing enough on its own. Far more disturbing, from an ethical standpoint, is that scientists are using embryos of unborn children to create those brains.

Defend life

Though there are many ways that policymakers can protect unborn life more generally, there are also ways by which state legislators can stop embryos from being used in this specific manner.

At baseline, a human embryo created through IVF must be clearly defined in state statutes as a fertilized human ovum composed of one or more living human cells and human genetic material that will develop into a child — and therefore have certain rights granted by law. Further, state legislators should expressly prohibit state taxpayer funds from being used to create, destroy, or risk harm to human embryos in research experiments, including at publicly funded state universities. In concert, state funds should be prohibited from being used to transport fetal tissue across state lines, preventing circumvention of these restrictions.

Researchers, scientists, and academics argue that such restrictions will hinder progress, not only in organoid creation — touted as a step toward an energy-efficient utopia — but also in developing other so-called lifesaving technologies and treatments. But nothing is truly lifesaving if it requires the destruction of unborn life. Moreover, the claim itself is false. Adult stem cells can replace embryonic stem cells and are significantly more effective.

Embryos are prenatal human beings. They deserve the same or greater protection as any form of human life, especially from being experimented upon and used as an energy source. It’s up to us to save them from this fate.