The Unconventional Computing Laboratory is creating mycelium computers

Originally published at: The Unconventional Computing Laboratory is creating mycelium computers | Boing Boing

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Who would’ve known that the wet towel that’s been in the corner of my room for months is actually a computer!

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Biological systems are so far in advance of our technical achievements to this point. Can we create a single molecule that can, using freely available environmental resources, build a virtually infinite number of self-replicating complex organisms?

Not yet, but we’ve learned how to edit such a molecule at least - which is pretty amazing, even if we are still pretty sketchy on exactly how it does its thing.

Anyway, I think learning how to leverage emergent biological systems like this is an obvious next step now that we are coming to understand more about how brilliantly they work.

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So the monsters from The Last of Us aren’t zombies… they’re cyborgs.

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Cells were the OG replicator nanites.

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Cyberspiders.

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In the video, what is he using as a control? I’d like to see the reaction of the mycelium in response to stress (force, light, chloroform, etc.) compared to a substrate which has not been populated by mycelium. How would the mycelium react when placed in different types of substrates? Could these reactions be from different causes like, for instance, the presence of water in the substrate?

Came for Paul Stamets reference, leaving satisfied!

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Star Trek Love GIF by Paramount+

:smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Do you want the singularity? Because this is how you get the singilarity.

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Well now that you mention it, yeah, I actually do. Bring on the singularity.

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I’ve seen “Demon Seed”…

ok. now somebody is going to have to rock me to sleep tonight.
[shudder]

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