There were some interesting articles on HN a few weeks ago about doing backpropagation in a machine learning system with physical systems, the particular example I remember was a natural language processing system using a metal plate and sound. Everything that happens in the universe is a computational process. You could build a living computer with enough knowledge about genetics and feedback mechanisms between species and specimens. A living computer doesn't have to be a human brain, or even resemble a brain at all. It might resemble a forest or a fish tank.
Sounds like a sweatshop.