Men Are Creating AI Girlfriends and Then Verbally Abusing Them

Quotes from users of the app Replika who create virtual girlfriend chatbots for the sole purpose of mistreating them. The article expresses surprise about the fact that such reprehensible behaviors are already so widespread.

Note from the archivist: Comment on the Monkey Moon forum: "Someday someone will need to explain that dystopian fiction isn't meant to serve as a how-to manual."

[WT-26] See reference details

Robot vacuum cleaner escapes from Cambridge Travelodge

A vaccuum robot managed to escape from a Cambridge hotel in early 2022. Hotel staff realized it was gone too late, so they asked on social media for anyone who found it to bring it back. People replied that vaccuum robots have no natural predators in the wild. Unfortunately for the bot, it was found at the foot of a hedge, which put an end to its wild attempt at freedom.

[AI-16] See reference details

La Chine développe des utérus artificiels humains autonomes surveillés par une IA

Chinese scientists are said to be working on artificial uteruses (or "long-term embryo growth devices") to make it possible for fetuses to develop without human intervention. A "nanny robot" managed by an AI would monitor development and tend to their needs.

[WT-28] See reference details

Prisoners Could Serve '1,000 Year Sentences In 8.5 Hours' In The Future

What if being sent to prison isn't a harsh enough punishment? The article includes several hypotheses for making sentences worse, including developing synthetic drugs that modify perception of time to make prison stays feel infinite and uploading criminals' brains to computers to make time pass a million times faster.

Note from the archivist: As I write these lines, it is still impossible to upload your mind to a computer and overclock it.

[WT-29] See reference details

A Shanghai, des robots et des drones surveillent 25 millions de confinés

This French article and video explain that two years after the first lockdown, China has updated its surveillance arsenal. Now land and air drones--a CCTV 2.0 of sorts--give orders in the streets.

[SUR-11] See reference details

They Hacked McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines—and Started a Cold War

Given the recurring malfunctions of McDonald's ice cream machines, start-up Kytch decided to try to figure out how to fix them. The machines are sold by food service equipment company Taylor, which refuses to give McDonald's access to the maintenance panel, where the machine can be restarted or repaired. Which means the restaurants have to call and pay for a repair visit every time. So Kytch developed a device sold to restaurants that gives them full access to the maintenance panel. In so doing, Kytch has started a war with Taylor and the McDonald's Corporation. The article tells the tale of industrial espionage and machinations.

Note from the archivist: Kytch has since filed a lawsuit against Taylor and confidential documents were leaked. The ice cream machines are still out of order far too often.

[SOL-20] See reference details

TikTok's algorithms knew I was bi before I did. I'm not the only one.

In this article (written in Internet slang), the author talks about the TikTok algorithm and how it helped her to realize she's bisexual by analyzing the videos she watched and liked and showing her more and more queer videos.

[WT-30] See reference details

BMW is now charging $18 per month for heated seats in some countries

Like Tesla, BMW now sells subscription-based functions to drivers. For example, a car may be sold with heated seats, but you have to pay $18 a month to activate them.

[WT-31] See reference details

The military made a robot that can eat organisms for fuel

This 2018 article takes a look back at experiments from the early 2000s, when the military-industrial complex had financed the EATR (Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot) project. EATR was designed to carry out long-distance missions by consuming "organisms" (plants according to the official line) for fuel.

Note from the archivist: No updates on the project since 2009--including news that it has been abandoned.

[WT-32] See reference details

Chess robot grabs and breaks finger of seven-year-old opponent

During a chess tournament in Moscow, an articulated arm directed by artificial intelligence grabbed and broke the finger of its seven-year-old adversary. It seems the boy may have "played too quickly". And the robot swiftly punished him. "This is, of course, bad," stated the chairman of the Moscow Chess Federation.

[WT-33] See reference details