[infurl]

https://scitechdaily.com/the-first-steps-toward-a-quantum-brain-an-intelligent-material-that-learns-by-physically-changing-itself/

This discovery is exceedingly strange. It could signal the way to build a quantum brain composed of neurons that are single atoms of cobalt. There really could be such a thing as a Boltzmann brain, a sentient entity arising out of nothingness, no life required.

An intelligent material that learns by physically changing itself, similar to how the human brain works, could be the foundation of a completely new generation of computers. Radboud physicists working toward this so-called “quantum brain” have made an important step. They have demonstrated that they can pattern and interconnect a network of single atoms, and mimic the autonomous behavior of neurons and synapses in a brain. They report their discovery in Nature Nanotechnology.