Gehirns

Gehirns is a term used in speculative fiction and some discussions of future neuroscience to describe a networked cognitive system composed of brains, brain-like tissue, or brain-inspired computing units linked to share information and coordinate decision making. The word blends the German Gehirn, meaning brain, with a pluralistic or fictionalized usage that treats interconnected minds as a single entity.

In science fiction and theoretical discussions, Gehirns can refer to several configurations. One common variant envisions organic brains connected by direct neural interfaces, enabling rapid data exchange and collective problem solving beyond the capabilities of a single mind. A related idea uses brain tissue or organoids integrated with digital networks to form hybrid, distributed agents. A third variant comprises artificial or hybrid Gehirns built from large-scale neural networks and hardware designed to mimic brain architectures while being physically separate from any human body.

Cognition in a Gehirn system tends toward distributed processing, where perception, memory, and reasoning are shared across the network rather than localized in one skull. Some depictions emphasize emergent properties, such as shared consciousness or coordinated goals, while others emphasize modular control, with individual units retaining autonomy.

Ethical and practical considerations include consent and autonomy of individual components, governance and accountability for collective decisions, privacy of sensory input, and the risk of failure or manipulation propagating through the network. Real-world parallels appear in research on brain-computer interfaces, neural prosthetics, and large-scale AI–neural collaborations, which raise similar questions about safety, control, and societal impact.

See also: brain, neural network, brain-computer interface, collective intelligence.