Kelsey, I'm tired of having all of the sad news.
I'm gonna have some FUD news for everybody. I
think that's gonna be fun. Okay, this is gonna
be weird. Potentially, I don't know, with weird
implications, but to hell with it, let's just
go with it. Two articles, we'll see if there's
anything that we can draw connections from between
them. Okay, sure. First one, from Popular Science,
written on September 5th, 2024, by Mac DeGaron.
This robot is controlled by a king oyster mushroom.
Sinister brain -controlling mushrooms are a staple
of sci -fi shows and literature. While brainwashed
humans doing the bidding of fungi remains fantasy,
researchers have learned how to control a robot's
movement using electrical signals produced by
the mycelium of the common king oyster mushroom.
This part machine, part fungus robot could one
day serve as a building block for more advanced
bio -hybrid chimeras that can remotely analyze
agricultural fields for potentially harmful changes
in soil chemistry. Researchers from Cornell University
and the University of Florence in Italy wanted
to see if electrical signals pulsing through
the mycelium of fungi could be translated into
controlling inputs for robots. The findings were
published last month in the journal Science Robotics.
They were ultimately able to create a system
capable of analyzing and processing naturally
occurring electrical signals sent through the
mycelium. Those data points were then translated
into a digital control signal. which, when beamed
to a pair of robots, cause them to move. The
video below shows one of those robots, a soft
starfish -like machine, contracting back and
forth as a result of researchers flashing the
connected fungi with UV light. Many fungi don't
like light exposure. Quote, this paper is the
first of many that will use the fungal kingdom,
provide environmental sensing and command signals
to robots to improve their levels of autonomy.
End quote. Cornell University Professor of Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering Robert Shepard said
in a statement, Fungi naturally respond to changes
in their natural environment, whether that be
by variations in soil chemistry or increasing
light exposure by sending electrophysiological
signals through the mycelium. These electrical
signals produce patterns of activity some researchers
say resemble neurons, which have served broadly
as inspiration for advancements in modern machines,
learning, and robotics. I think that's far enough
in this one. There's a bit more, but I want to
make sure we have enough time for the second,
probably unrelated story, but nonetheless a story
that I'm going to read beside this one, which
comes from the South China Morning Post. Okay.
It was written on June 18th, 2024. Article title,
Zhong Tong. Article title, China's next -gen
sex bots powered by AI are about to hit the shelves.
Possibly unrelated, but still let's go through
this. Controlled by mushrooms. Chinese scientists
and engineers are applying chat -GPT -like technology
to sex robots aiming to create interactive AI
-powered companions in the face of technical
and ethical challenges. In Shenzhen, Starpery
Technology, a major producer of sex dolls, is
now training its own large -language model to
enhance its product with artificial intelligence.
These sex dolls with unprecedented capabilities
available in male and female forms will soon
be hitting the shelves. Quote, we're developing
a next generation sex doll that can interact
vocally and physically with users with prototypes
expected by August of this year. End quote. CEO
Evan Lee said earlier this month. Technological
challenges remain, particularly in achieving
realistic human interactions. While simple dialogue
is easy, creating interactive responses involves
complex model development by specialized software
companies. He said, Quote, the new generation
of sextal is powered by AI models and equipped
with sensors can react with both movements and
speech, significantly enhancing user experience
by focusing on emotional connection rather than
just basic conversational abilities. End quote,
Lee said. The company, which has been focusing
on the market outside China, is now also targeting
the domestic sector. Despite being a largely
conservative society with general electance to
discuss such topics, Li said China hosted the
largest market for sex dolls, surpassing the
combined sales of the US, Japan, and Germany.
People in the industry know China has a huge
market, with purchasing power in major cities
surpassing many European countries. The market
is also open in mind, though aesthetically different
from the European market. End quote, he said.
That's probably far enough to go. Now Chelsea,
probably unrelated, but I thought they were fun
things to read right beside each other. See,
here's my take on it. It has nothing to do with
the mushrooms, but there's already people that
like, see sex dolls as partners and significant
others. I remember watching a documentary about
it of - japanese men who basically live alone
and don't leave their house and they don't have
like sex dolls but they have like companions
like that yeah i mean there's some where it's
not even like a sexual thing so my concern there
and it's not really a concern it's just more
of an observation where do you draw the line?
I mean that's making it more companion -like
especially if it talks back and even more of
a dynamic there what if Someone who's getting
rejected by humans gets one of those and then
the robot rejects them. You know what, I was
just thinking the same thing. I mean, technically
it can respond however it feels correct. If it's
not feeling comfortable, it could deny it. Yeah,
exactly. Or have a headache or something along
those lines. Exactly. And that opens up a whole
other thing, like to people forming bonds with
something that is interacting with them if they're
already you know forming bonds with something
that is an object yeah that doesn't talk back
um yeah this kind of gives it a sentience to
it so i'm also a little worried about the ai's
that are trying to hook people up with each other
based on them talking to other ai's what if the
sex robot ai gets on there and the The dating
AI tells you you need to get a sex robot because
they really hit it off with you. Yeah, all things
to think about. All important things to think
about. Especially with those mycelium just kind
of hanging out everywhere. I'm sure there is
a fungal joke in there somewhere, but I will
leave it for you to think about over the next
48 hours. Anyhow, see you on Friday. Bye. Bye.