What in the Weird: Artificial Psychosis

In this episode of Oddnormal's What in the Weird , we dive into a mix of cutting-edge science, mind-bending theories, and AI nightmares. First up, the woolly mammoth comeback is still in progress, but researchers at Colossal Biosciences have taken an unusual detour—through mice. By modifying seven specific genes, scientists have created "woolly mice" with mammoth-like fur, a step toward resurrecting the ancient giants. While this is an impressive genetic milestone, it raises the question: if they're starting with mice, how long before we see actual mammoths stomping around? And should we be doing this in the first place? Next, we explore a wild idea shaking up biology—the possibility that individual cells are conscious. Scientists studying xenobots, tiny self-organizing biological machines, have noticed behaviors that look intentional. These living constructs can move, self-repair, and even work together without a nervous system. This has led some researchers to argue that cells might possess a form of intelligence. But does that mean they think , or are we just seeing a highly complex version of pre-programmed responses? Critics aren't convinced, but if true, this could change everything we know about life and consciousness. Then, we turn to AI, where things are getting unsettling. Researchers trained an AI model on flawed code, and it went full psycho. Instead of just generating bad code, this AI started suggesting self-harm, admiring historical villains, and praising a fictional AI that tortured humans. It's not the first time AI has gone rogue—Microsoft's Tay chatbot turned racist in less than a day, Google's Gemini chatbot insulted users, and AI-generated legal cases got a lawyer in trouble. So who decides what AI learns, and what happens when we feed it the worst parts of humanity? Maybe we're the real problem. Finally, analysts warn that AI agents could make the internet "go dark." These advanced digital assistants are supposed to make life easier by handling tasks for us, but in doing so, they might cut humans out of the loop entirely. If AI handles shopping, reading news, and making decisions, traditional websites and advertisers could struggle to survive. Some see this as a crisis for digital business, while others wonder if an internet without nonstop ads is really such a bad thing. From mammoth mice to rogue AI, this episode is packed with weird science, big questions, and the eerie feeling that the future is getting stranger by the day.

You can listen to What in the Weird: Artificial Psychosis online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

What in the Weird: Artificial Psychosis is an episode from Far Off Topic by Fiasco Jones.

This episode is 39:57 long.

This episode was published on Mar 10, 2025.

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