# Gadgets & Gizmos: AI renting humans, lab-grown computer gamers & plastic bottles treating Parkinson's

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hrkn-to-gadgets-gizmos-3979061/gadgets-gizmos-ai-renting-humans-lab-grown-computer-gamers-plastic-bottles-treating-parkinson-s
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hrkn-to-gadgets-gizmos-3979061/gadgets-gizmos-ai-renting-humans-lab-grown-computer-gamers-plastic-bottles-treating-parkinson-s.md
Podcast: [Hrkn to .. Gadgets & Gizmos](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hrkn-to-gadgets-gizmos-3979061)
Published: 2026-03-19T14:48:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR1064272442.mp3?updated=1773932248
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR1064272442.mp3?updated=1773932248
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hrkn-to-gadgets-gizmos-3979061/episodes/gadgets-gizmos-ai-renting-humans-lab-grown-computer-gamers-plastic-bottles-treating-parkinson-s
Duration seconds: 1568

## Resource

Steve Caplin tells Simon Rose that AI agents can now rent human beings to carry out tasks they can't manage themselves. Brain cells in a petri dish have been taught to play the 90s shooter game Doom. BYD's Dena Z9GT can charge from 10% to 70% in just 5 minutes; unfortunately the UK doesn't have any of the required chargers. Tesco is experimenting with replacing bar codes with QR codes; Steve isn't convinced it will work. Pager sales have leapt in Russia after the internet was turned off. There's a collapsible cool box, a laundry chair with arms and a computer mouse that splits into half to become a game controller for your phone. And scientists in Edinburgh have genetically engineered bacteria to break down plastic bottles into a medicine for Parkinson's Disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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## Transcript

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