Just like it says, Popcorn Shorts is about the kind of things we think are really interesting, but don’t really need a large article to explain them. From the sublime to the ridiculous, check in here for crunchy bits of info you’ll love to munch.
Sales of AI-enabled teddy bear suspended after it gave advice on BDSM sex and where to find knives
(Guy and Jiang on CNN Business) “Sales of an artificial intelligence-enabled plush toy have been suspended after it was found that it engaged in conversation around sexually explicit topics and offered potentially dangerous advice. Larry Wang, CEO of Singapore-based FoloToy, told CNN that the company had withdrawn its “Kumma” bear, as well as the rest of its range of AI-enabled toys, after researchers at the US PIRG Education Fund raised concerns around inappropriate conversation topics, including discussion of sexual fetishes, such as spanking, and how to light a match. The company is now “conducting an internal safety audit,” Wang added…”
A Freediver Held His Breath For Almost Half an Hour-and Obliterated a World Record
The act of breathing has been central to life on Earth since the beginning, and the average human will take more than 600 million breaths in a single lifetime. But there’s a specific group of humans-a subclass of freedivers known as apneists-who train their minds and bodies to efficiently halt this intuitive autonomic function, far exceeding the typical 30-to-90-second limit of breath-holding. Take, for instance, Croatian freediver Budimir Šobat. On March 27, 2021, Šobat held his breath underwater for an astounding 24 minutes and 37 seconds-a feat that was only possible thanks to minutes of huffing pure oxygen before making the attempt. Now, four years later, fellow countryman and freediver Vitomir Maričić exceeded this world record-and it wasn’t even close.
Mushroom learns to crawl after being given robot body
Anthony Cuthbertson in The Independent, Sep 2024
Engineers have created a new type of robot that places living fungi behind the controls. The biohybrid robot uses electrical signals from an edible type of mushroom called a king trumpet to move around and sense its environment. Developed by an interdisciplinary team from Cornell University in the US and Florence University in Italy, the machine could herald a new era of living robotics. “Living systems respond to touch, they respond to light, they respond to heat, they respond to even some unknowns, like signals,” said Anand Mishra, a research associate in the Organic Robotics Lab at Cornell. “That’s why we think, OK, if you wanted to build future robots, how can they work in an unexpected environment?”
How to Actually Remember People’s Names
(Lisa Kanarek in Wired, Oct 2021) “Almost three years ago, my husband and I moved to a new neighborhood. One of the first people we met was a teacher who lives six doors away. Each time I see her walking her two dogs, she waves and says, “Hi, Lisa.” I smile, wave back, and say, “How’s it going?” or “What’s new?” After engaging in this almost daily ritual for so long, I’m too embarrassed to tell her I can’t remember her name. I doubt I’ll ever become a “super-recognizer,” someone with exceptional face recognition abilities. Still, I set out to learn ways to improve name recall with the help of two experts: a neurosurgeon and a world record holder in memory….”
