Did you have an imaginary friend as a kid?
No shame. Plenty of us did. A child’s imagination can be overactive, going in weird directions at a breakneck pace, so kids can come up with some pretty unusual imaginary scenarios.
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One man found a way to bring back his childhood imaginary friend, and it’s a wild ride.
Lucas Rizzotto had an imaginary friend as a kid.
As Lucas documents in a 25-post Twitter saga , his imaginary friend was a little bit different than most. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) tech, along with Lucas’ programming know-how, it’s possible to kinda-sorta bring his old friend back to life.
Lucas’ imaginary friend was his microwave.
Again, kids can be weird, but apparently this was weird enough that Lucas’ family was a little bit concerned. If you doubt his story, he brought the receipts in the form of stills from old family videos.
It’s time to meet Magnetron.
If you thought having a microwave as an imaginary friend would only give said friend the characteristics of a microwave, think again. This imaginary friend, known as Magnetron, had an elaborate backstory dating back about a century.
Can Lucas bring Magnetron back?
Anyone who had an imaginary friend as a kid probably wished they could make the friend real. Lucas is proof that some of these kids grow up and find ways to leverage cutting edge AI technology to make it possible.
It’s alive!
Well, it isn’t ‘alive’ quite yet, but it’s well on its way. Lucas slapped some stuff on a stock Amazon smart microwave and got to work on bringing Magnetron into being. You can even see Magnetron’s brain on top of the unit.
AI needs memories.
In order for the microwave to truly be Magnetron and not just some run-of-the-mill AI-enabled smart microwave, Lucas needed to give it some memories. He did this by filling page after page with memories, then inputting them into the AI.
Like catching up with an old friend.
At first, all was well. Lucas programmed Magnetron successfully, Magnetron started talking with him, and before long, the two were catching up on old times. It was just like childhood, only this imaginary friend had an actual, tangible voice now.
Things started to get a bit weird.
Some people think the past should be buried, and that bringing up stuff that ought to be forgotten is a bad idea. Putting childhood memories into an AI microwave might fit into this category.
Join Magnetron in the microwave.
There’s no way Lucas can fit in the microwave even if he wanted to, so this was a non-starter. But it’s puzzling. What, exactly, did Magnetron think was going to happen? Why issue this invitation in the first place?
Nevertheless, he played along, telling Magnetron he had entered the microwave and closing the door to prove it.
Magnetron, believing Lucas to be inside the microwave, turned it on .
Lucas noped out.
We hear about hauntings being super scary, as your house fills up with spirits that may want to cause you harm. But that’s all supernatural stuff. This AI microwave that wants to hurt Lucas is absolutely real.
Magnetron felt abandoned.
Because AI is scary in the way it can perceive of things, it simply interpreted the 20 lost years as it being trapped in a void. It’s a scary thought, and it’s even scarier that AI can seek revenge like this.
In a sense, he literally brought his imaginary friend back to life.
Things get a bit deep here, and interpretation will vary from person to person. But by some definitions, it could be argued that Lucas truly brought Magnetron to life.
Time to put this one away.
Smart microwaves are nice and all, but AI microwaves seem downright terrifying. I appreciate Lucas’ endeavors, if only because we can all learn from them.
Be sure to check out the full thread and share your thoughts in the comments!
