Fruit Fly Brain Map Takes the Wheel in Doom and Beat Saber

Researchers released MaleCNS v1.0, a full wiring map of an adult male fruit fly brain (about 166,000 neurons and 125 million connections) built by Google Research, HHMI Janelia, and partners using AI on millions of images, then connected it to games like Doom, Beat Saber, and Minecraft to translate sensory inputs into neural activity and outputs into game controls. The work demonstrates a sophisticated brain-like model driving virtual actions, but scientists emphasize it is a static connectome, not a conscious mind, while sparking ongoing demos and debates about the ethics and implications of brain simulations.