Robot Performance: Is It Human or Costume?

In episode 76 of The AI Fix, two US federal judges blame AI for imaginary case law, a Chinese "humanoid" dramatically sheds its skin onstage, Toyota unveils a crabby walking chair creeps us out, Google plans AI chips in orbit, robot dogs get jobs at Sellafield, and AI writes cruise-ship gags from the 1950s (but a little less racist.)

Plus: Graham gives all his credit card numbers away in an attempt to buy AI-generated jokes, and Mark asks a terrifying question: if you make an LLM “notice its noticing,” does it start sounding... conscious?

Episode links:

• More AI gaffes in the courtroom.
• Robot sheds its skin to prove it is a robot.
• Robot chair walks, climbs and folds itself.
• Project suncatcher: chips in space.
• Robot dogs are burying nuclear waste.
• Salman Rushdie says AI won’t threaten authors until it can make people laugh.
• The AI Fix episode 8: Emergence, a rancid donkey, and the world's funniest joke.
• Pro comedians tried using ChatGPT and Google Gemini to write their jokes – these were the hilariously unfunny results.
• LaughGPT.
• Witscript - An AI-powered joke-writing assistant.
• JOKER 2025: Humour in the Machine.
• New study: AI chatbots systematically violate mental health ethics standards.

The AI Fix

The AI Fix podcast is presented by Graham Cluley and Mark Stockley.

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