The more interesting (and far less ethically challenging) use would be to understand why it is they're doing this.
Explanations like "it thinks it's building a nest" (mentioned in related [1]) on the one hand or "play" on the other (my own) do seem very unsatisfying. Do they really not realize there is no resultant nest, and have they been observed using it as a nest subsequently?
This comment refers to the previous version of parent's comment where after being delighted they suggested that the real money in neural implants is making animals do such things.
Maybe I could provide some context here. This is not "snow-white", is survival.
Mice have "mice paths". They locate the more direct routes from its home to the feeding areas and travel this routes often. This paths are a 3-D maze (can run over or under obstacles), and they memorize it by heart.
If something happens they will jump to safety fast light, without even thinking about it. They will use a sort of escape algorithm ("jump left, climb, jump, jump, fall, jump right, hole") and don't need to see the path. Can retreat in absolute obscurity and experiments show that even blinded mice manage to do it without landing on sharp tools. They will even jump over ghost obstacles if removed by researchers in the middle of the night.
This mouse is not tidying up; Is keeping its safety route safe. Those annoying random obstacles could became fatal if stand in the way. This way, it does not need to reset and memorize a new (and longer) escape route each night; and also reduce the risk to be ambushed by predatory rats.
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[ 4.6 ms ] story [ 42.7 ms ] threadI think the real money in brain implants is putting them in animals to make them do things like this.
If the price comes down enough you’d mostly see it in animal husbandry, large livestock, and breeding exotic large pets like pandas.
Explanations like "it thinks it's building a nest" (mentioned in related [1]) on the one hand or "play" on the other (my own) do seem very unsatisfying. Do they really not realize there is no resultant nest, and have they been observed using it as a nest subsequently?
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67921442
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38911596
Mice have "mice paths". They locate the more direct routes from its home to the feeding areas and travel this routes often. This paths are a 3-D maze (can run over or under obstacles), and they memorize it by heart.
If something happens they will jump to safety fast light, without even thinking about it. They will use a sort of escape algorithm ("jump left, climb, jump, jump, fall, jump right, hole") and don't need to see the path. Can retreat in absolute obscurity and experiments show that even blinded mice manage to do it without landing on sharp tools. They will even jump over ghost obstacles if removed by researchers in the middle of the night.
This mouse is not tidying up; Is keeping its safety route safe. Those annoying random obstacles could became fatal if stand in the way. This way, it does not need to reset and memorize a new (and longer) escape route each night; and also reduce the risk to be ambushed by predatory rats.