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"[Science fiction is ] That branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings."
- Isaac Asimov

Smart Gel  
  Intelligent paste made of neurons; spread upon a substrate for computing.  

See the entry for head cheese.

"It's one of those smart gels," Ray said at last... "Head cheese. Cultured brains on a slab. The same things they've been plugging into the Net to firewall infections."
Technovelgy from Starfish, by Peter Watts.
Published by Tor Books in 1999
Additional resources -

The term "smart gel" is already in use; it refers to a class of liquids that have unusual properties in response to being compressed. Since smart gels expand or contract in response to external stimuli, they could be useful in applications such as an artificial pancreas that releases insulin inside the body in response to high sugar level. Smart gels might someday be used to make exotic foods, cosmetics, medicines, and sensors. See the article Smart Gels and Shake Gels.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Starfish
  More Ideas and Technology by Peter Watts
  Tech news articles related to Starfish
  Tech news articles related to works by Peter Watts

Smart Gel-related news articles:
  - Nerve Cells Grown On Microchip
  - Neuron Network Cyborg Has Memory
  - DARPA Funding AI Fighter Pilots

Articles related to Artificial Intelligence
Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them?
Chinese Tokamak Uses AI To Keep Fusion Plasma Stable
Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements
Are AIs Going Rogue Like Hal 9000

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