Smart goo learns to play Pong video game in Flubber-style breakthrough and it gets better over time like AI

BRAINY goo can play a video game and learn from its own behavior, in a breakthrough poised to change the world of artificial intelligence.

Hydrogels are polymers that become flexible when hydrated, similar to the bouncy substance featured in the 1997 Robin Williams flick “Flubber.”

They are found in everyday products like hair gel and contact lenses- and they are more similar to brain cells than you’d imagine.

A study published today in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science shows how the gel can get smarter over time

Scientists at the University of Reading in the UK tasked the goo with playing Pong, one of the earliest video games consisting of a rudimentary ping-pong match.

The researchers hooked hydrogels to a virtual game environment and applied a feedback loop between the hydrogel’s paddle and the ball’s position.

They opted to …