Scientists just uploaded a fly’s brain into a computer, unleashing yet another manmade horror we’re definitely not ready for

Have you ever wanted to live in a Black Mirror episode? No? Well tough luck because that is exactly where society is heading. Okay, maybe that’s a little pessimistic but what scientists have achieved with a humble fruit fly certainly feels like nothing short of a dystopian sci-fi nightmare.

Viral claims have been circulating online this week regarding a breakthrough in organic brains being integrated with technology. You may have already heard about it but if you haven’t then prepare to have your mind blown (and also be slightly horrified). 

The claim is that scientists have managed to create a digital copy of a fly’s brain, scanning every neuron and synapse, before uploading it into a digital body in a digital space. The disturbing part is that the fly actually began moving, grooming itself, and feeding, without any instructions to do so. Footage of the supposed experiment has been shared on social media and people are already comparing it to the dystopian sci-fi show Black Mirror.

These scientists were so occupied with whether they could they never stop to think if they should. “Black mirror used to be ahead of its time but we very quickly caught up” wrote one person on X, “how is nobody freaking out about this[?]” asked another. It certainly seems people aren’t taking this as the huge scientific breakthrough it could possibly be.

How did scientists create a digital fly?

So you’re likely wondering about the group of scientists behind this new technology. How did they do this and why? Well the company responsible for the digi-fly is called Eon Systems PBC and a video of the fly simulation posted by one of the supposed founders explains more about the experiment. 

The clip titled, “The First Multi-Behavior Brain Upload” was shared by Dr. Alex Wissner-Gross. He explains that in 2024, a senior scientist at Eon Systems by the name of Philip Shiu, published a “computational model of the entire brain of an adult Drosophila melanogaster,” (in other words a fruit fly). The model contained 125,000 neurons and 50 million synaptic connections. The model could predict motor movement with 95% accuracy.

Still following? Good. So two years ago they essentially had a replica of a fruit fly’s brain but it was just a “brain without a body.” So the scientists built upon what Shiu and colleagues had created. A full simulation was created to accommodate the bodiless brain, allowing it to move.

The future is now

So in theory could we see humans uploading their consciousness into a computer in the near future? With enough time and money anything is possible, but let’s not forget, this is a copy of a brain, the original would still be stuck in a meat suit in the real world.

And this is assuming that this is all true of course. Some online have expressed doubts over the results shared by Eon Systems. In the comment section on the YouTube video one person pointed out that the fly eating appeared to be a looped animation, “Surely those are also intricately directed brain led movements that produces non-looping motor activity?” Of course, with something as mindblowing as this, skepticism is a must.