Yeah, a brain does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I can’t imagine how simulating something with alternative hardware could be any more efficient than the original, especially when that new hardware wasn’t designed to do the same thing.

That's what Neuralink is for! I can see it now:

The jobs of the future will involve 12 hour shifts serving as a biological GPU. A large helmet is strapped to your head. It remotely, non-invasively takes over your neurons and forces them to perform calculations commanded by a remote server, rather than your own thoughts. It doesn't override the vital parts of the brain involved in say, keeping your heart beating. But it does override most everything else. And it's not like a dream. You're not experiencing a virtual reality in there. For 12 hours, all of your senses are just full static at maximum volume. The experience would quickly drive you mad, if your own conscious awareness was not also dissolved into so much computational grist. You're essentially a vegetable for 12 hours. Your shift is performed wearing an adult diaper. This is nearly the only form of wage labor available. Not even jobs like janitorial are available. One human mind, suitably harnessed, can remotely pilot a dozen humanoid androids. Half of your coworkers are there involuntarily, unpaid, caught up in one of anti-vagrancy law or another.