Last updated on September 6, 2026 Evan Smith used the newly released connectome of an adult male fruit fly (which mapped 166,000 neurons from HHMI Janelia and Google Research) to run a real-time spike network in Minecraft. The game’s sensory inputs activate clusters of neurons, driving actions like flying or grooming, while emphasizing that it’s a simplified exploration, not a living brain or consciousness test. Videos of the fly ‘playing’ animations or memes like a virtual Senator Fetterman generated mixed reactions of shock, concern and jokes about simulation theory, highlighting how AI turns neuroscience data into interactive experiments. This story is a summary of posts about X and may evolve over time. Grok may make mistakes, check your results.
