Wow, I Wonder What This Button Does

Here we go:

With the help of a supercomputer running AI software, boffins at an American university have created a new life-form they call “xenobots”, which are are tiny, motile blobs of tissue made from frog stem-cells. Under the guidance of the AI — which, as AIs tend to do these days, took off on a line of thinking that the humans who built it have no way of following — the wee animalcules assumed a shape that enabled them to develop a means of reproduction never before seen on Earth: they gather up compact piles of loose stem-cells that grow into new xenobots.

“Most people think of robots as made of metals and ceramics but it’s not so much what a robot is made from but what it does, which is act on its own on behalf of people,” said Josh Bongard, a computer science professor and robotics expert at the University of Vermont and lead author of the study.
“In that way it’s a robot but it’s also clearly an organism made from genetically unmodified frog cell.”

So: a robot “acts on its own on behalf of people”. We might ask: “Why does it do that?” (I rather think Professor Bongard et al. haven’t.)

Not to worry:

While the prospect of self-replicating biotechnology could spark concern, the researchers said that the living machines were entirely contained in a lab and easily extinguished, as they are biodegradable and regulated by ethics experts.
The research was partially funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a federal agency that oversees the development of technology for military use.
“There are many things that are possible if we take advantage of this kind of plasticity and ability of cells to solve problems,” Bongard said.

Right then, that’s enough for tonight, children! It’s all in the hands of experts. Off you go to bed. Sweet dreams.

5 Comments

  1. DaveB says

    What a relief to know that this is all regulated by ‘ethics experts’! Altruistic, dispassionate, etc. Even more comforting is the funding from DARPA, another organization seeking only good for mankind.

    Posted November 30, 2021 at 8:38 am | Permalink
  2. awildgoose says

    Didn’t Corbett do a whole report explaining ‘bioethicists’ are just eugenicists in disguise?

    Posted November 30, 2021 at 9:51 am | Permalink
  3. bomag says

    … ‘bioethicists’ are just eugenicists in disguise?

    Our modern crop are plenty dysgenic.

    Posted December 3, 2021 at 7:36 am | Permalink
  4. JK says

    Ah yes. The button.

    https://gunfreezone.net/how-ketchup-is-rally-made/

    Posted December 3, 2021 at 5:35 pm | Permalink
  5. Up2L8 says

    Seems I read something awhile back about the merger of Wurlitzer and Xerox with the objective being reproductive organs.

    Posted December 3, 2021 at 5:55 pm | Permalink

Post a Comment

Your email is never shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*