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FinalSpark, Ethics & Security: What Living-Neuron Computers Mean for Your Company
What if I told you there’s a laboratory in Switzerland where scientists are building computers from living human neurons?
Sounds like science fiction, right? But it’s happening right now, and the energy crisis driving this research is about to affect every small business owner’s cloud computing bills.
In this episode, Noel, Graham, and Mauven explore FinalSpark’s revolutionary biocomputing platform. This Swiss company has created the Neuroplatform, a system using approximately 160,000 living human neurons to perform computational tasks. Their goal?
Solving the massive energy consumption problem created by artificial intelligence and modern data centres.
Your brain runs on 20 watts of power. Current AI data centres consume megawatts.
FinalSpark claims their biological processors could use a million times less energy than traditional computing. That’s not incremental improvement – that’s fundamental transformation.
But here’s the catch: this technology is still early, really early. So why should small business owners care about laboratory experiments with brain cells?
Because the energy costs driving this research are already affecting your Azure bills, your SaaS subscriptions, and your cloud hosting fees. And understanding where technology is heading helps you make better decisions about where to invest your limited resources.
What You’ll Learn
Key Quotes
Noel Bradford:“Training a single large AI model produces the same carbon emissions as five cars create during their entire lifetime. And that statistic is from 2019. Modern models like GPT-4 produce 50 to 100 times more emissions than that.”
Graham Falkner:“So naturally they thought, you know what, let’s just use actual neurons instead. Because that’s a perfectly reasonable next step when your silicon experiments don’t work.”
Mauven MacLeod:“Bloody hell. Today’s topic just got properly mental.”
Noel Bradford on timeline:“In the next 12 months, nothing. Ignore biocomputing entirely. Focus on the security basics most businesses are probably still getting wrong.”
On security implications:“How do you secure a computer made from living cells? Do you need to understand neuroscience to exploit vulnerabilities in bioprocessors? If someone breaches a living computer system, is it a cyber attack or biological warfare?”
About FinalSpark
Founded by: Dr. Martin Kutter and Dr. Fred Jordan
Location: Vevey, Switzerland
Previous company: Alpvision (anti-counterfeiting specialists)
Current project: The Neuroplatform
Research credentials:
Participating universities:
Key Facts from the Episode
Energy consumption statistics:
The biocomputing advantage:
The Neuroplatform specifications:
Why This Matters for Small Businesses
Immediate concerns:
Future implications:
What to watch for (2-5 year timeline):
•Early commercial applications in specialised tasks
•Medical diagnostics applications
•Pattern recognition improvements
•Industry adoption signals
Practical Takeaways for Business Owners
Do these things now:
Build awareness:
Watch for these milestones:
Remember:
Resources Mentioned
FinalSpark:
Further reading:
The Uncomfortable Questions We Need to Answer
As Noel, Graham, and Mauven discuss in the episode, biocomputing raises security and ethical questions that nobody has answers for yet:
Security concerns:
Ethical considerations:
The hosts emphasize that awareness isn’t the same as answers, but these discussions need to happen before the technology becomes widespread.
What the Hosts Say You Should Actually Do
After 22 minutes of discussing living neurons, Swiss laboratories, and energy crises, the practical advice is refreshingly straightforward:
Do Nothing different for now at least!
Seriously. Don’t change your technology strategy based on biocomputing research. Instead:
Why? Because the exciting developments in biocomputing don’t change the fact that most UK small businesses still haven’t done the tedious, essential security work that prevents 95% of attacks.
As Noel puts it: “The companies that survive aren’t the ones that predicted the exact future. They’re the ones who built adaptable systems that could pivot when the future arrived unexpectedly.”
Next Steps
Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes exploring where technology is heading and what it means for your business.
Leave a review if you found this episode valuable. Reviews genuinely help other small business owners find the show. Takes 30 seconds, makes a real difference.
Share this episode with business owners who need to understand how energy costs are about to affect their cloud computing bills.
Visit the blog at thesmallbusinesscybersecurityguy.co.uk for the comprehensive write-up with all technical details, source verification, and links to the research.
Comment with your thoughts: Do you think biocomputing is the future or an expensive dead end? Your questions sometimes become future episodes.
About The Small Business Cyber Security Guy Podcast
Practical cybersecurity advice for UK small businesses, delivered with humour and authentic British personality.
Hosted by
New episodes weekly
Website: thesmallbusinesscybersecurityguy.co.uk
Podcast feed: https://feed.podbean.com/thesmallbusinesscybersecurityguy/feed.xml
Final Thoughts from the Hosts
Noel Bradford:“After 40 years in this industry, I’ve learned that mad ideas sometimes win. Especially the really mad ones.”
Mauven MacLeod:“Stay curious, stay sceptical, stay secure, and maybe keep one eye on the Swiss scientists growing computers in dishes.”
Graham Falkner:“The small business cybersecurity challenges haven’t changed. But knowing where technology is heading helps you make better decisions about where to invest your limited resources.”
Legal Disclaimer
The Small Business Cyber Security Guy Podcast is produced for educational and informational purposes. All information provided is believed to be accurate at the time of recording, but cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving field. Listeners should verify current information and seek professional advice specific to their circumstances. The hosts and producers are not liable for actions taken based on information provided in this podcast. Always implement cybersecurity measures appropriate to your business needs and risk profile.
Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.
Tags
biocomputing, FinalSpark, living neurons, computing energy crisis, AI energy consumption, small business technology, future of computing, cybersecurity, data centres, cloud computing costs, Swiss technology, enterprise technology, SMB technology strategy, emerging technology, biological computing, neural networks, technology innovation, small business podcast, UK business, cyber essentials
View all episodes
By The Small Business Cyber Security GuyWhat if I told you there’s a laboratory in Switzerland where scientists are building computers from living human neurons?
Sounds like science fiction, right? But it’s happening right now, and the energy crisis driving this research is about to affect every small business owner’s cloud computing bills.
In this episode, Noel, Graham, and Mauven explore FinalSpark’s revolutionary biocomputing platform. This Swiss company has created the Neuroplatform, a system using approximately 160,000 living human neurons to perform computational tasks. Their goal?
Solving the massive energy consumption problem created by artificial intelligence and modern data centres.
Your brain runs on 20 watts of power. Current AI data centres consume megawatts.
FinalSpark claims their biological processors could use a million times less energy than traditional computing. That’s not incremental improvement – that’s fundamental transformation.
But here’s the catch: this technology is still early, really early. So why should small business owners care about laboratory experiments with brain cells?
Because the energy costs driving this research are already affecting your Azure bills, your SaaS subscriptions, and your cloud hosting fees. And understanding where technology is heading helps you make better decisions about where to invest your limited resources.
What You’ll Learn
Key Quotes
Noel Bradford:“Training a single large AI model produces the same carbon emissions as five cars create during their entire lifetime. And that statistic is from 2019. Modern models like GPT-4 produce 50 to 100 times more emissions than that.”
Graham Falkner:“So naturally they thought, you know what, let’s just use actual neurons instead. Because that’s a perfectly reasonable next step when your silicon experiments don’t work.”
Mauven MacLeod:“Bloody hell. Today’s topic just got properly mental.”
Noel Bradford on timeline:“In the next 12 months, nothing. Ignore biocomputing entirely. Focus on the security basics most businesses are probably still getting wrong.”
On security implications:“How do you secure a computer made from living cells? Do you need to understand neuroscience to exploit vulnerabilities in bioprocessors? If someone breaches a living computer system, is it a cyber attack or biological warfare?”
About FinalSpark
Founded by: Dr. Martin Kutter and Dr. Fred Jordan
Location: Vevey, Switzerland
Previous company: Alpvision (anti-counterfeiting specialists)
Current project: The Neuroplatform
Research credentials:
Participating universities:
Key Facts from the Episode
Energy consumption statistics:
The biocomputing advantage:
The Neuroplatform specifications:
Why This Matters for Small Businesses
Immediate concerns:
Future implications:
What to watch for (2-5 year timeline):
•Early commercial applications in specialised tasks
•Medical diagnostics applications
•Pattern recognition improvements
•Industry adoption signals
Practical Takeaways for Business Owners
Do these things now:
Build awareness:
Watch for these milestones:
Remember:
Resources Mentioned
FinalSpark:
Further reading:
The Uncomfortable Questions We Need to Answer
As Noel, Graham, and Mauven discuss in the episode, biocomputing raises security and ethical questions that nobody has answers for yet:
Security concerns:
Ethical considerations:
The hosts emphasize that awareness isn’t the same as answers, but these discussions need to happen before the technology becomes widespread.
What the Hosts Say You Should Actually Do
After 22 minutes of discussing living neurons, Swiss laboratories, and energy crises, the practical advice is refreshingly straightforward:
Do Nothing different for now at least!
Seriously. Don’t change your technology strategy based on biocomputing research. Instead:
Why? Because the exciting developments in biocomputing don’t change the fact that most UK small businesses still haven’t done the tedious, essential security work that prevents 95% of attacks.
As Noel puts it: “The companies that survive aren’t the ones that predicted the exact future. They’re the ones who built adaptable systems that could pivot when the future arrived unexpectedly.”
Next Steps
Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes exploring where technology is heading and what it means for your business.
Leave a review if you found this episode valuable. Reviews genuinely help other small business owners find the show. Takes 30 seconds, makes a real difference.
Share this episode with business owners who need to understand how energy costs are about to affect their cloud computing bills.
Visit the blog at thesmallbusinesscybersecurityguy.co.uk for the comprehensive write-up with all technical details, source verification, and links to the research.
Comment with your thoughts: Do you think biocomputing is the future or an expensive dead end? Your questions sometimes become future episodes.
About The Small Business Cyber Security Guy Podcast
Practical cybersecurity advice for UK small businesses, delivered with humour and authentic British personality.
Hosted by
New episodes weekly
Website: thesmallbusinesscybersecurityguy.co.uk
Podcast feed: https://feed.podbean.com/thesmallbusinesscybersecurityguy/feed.xml
Final Thoughts from the Hosts
Noel Bradford:“After 40 years in this industry, I’ve learned that mad ideas sometimes win. Especially the really mad ones.”
Mauven MacLeod:“Stay curious, stay sceptical, stay secure, and maybe keep one eye on the Swiss scientists growing computers in dishes.”
Graham Falkner:“The small business cybersecurity challenges haven’t changed. But knowing where technology is heading helps you make better decisions about where to invest your limited resources.”
Legal Disclaimer
The Small Business Cyber Security Guy Podcast is produced for educational and informational purposes. All information provided is believed to be accurate at the time of recording, but cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving field. Listeners should verify current information and seek professional advice specific to their circumstances. The hosts and producers are not liable for actions taken based on information provided in this podcast. Always implement cybersecurity measures appropriate to your business needs and risk profile.
Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.
Tags
biocomputing, FinalSpark, living neurons, computing energy crisis, AI energy consumption, small business technology, future of computing, cybersecurity, data centres, cloud computing costs, Swiss technology, enterprise technology, SMB technology strategy, emerging technology, biological computing, neural networks, technology innovation, small business podcast, UK business, cyber essentials