Google Unveils New AI Video Game Agent That Teams Up With Players
By Movieguide® Contributor
Google is looking to change how video games are played by creating an AI that can cooperate and communicate with players in any gaming scenario.
SIMA, the new AI, is learning how to play a variety of games. Rather than focusing on teaching the AI how to dominate in these games, the researchers are attempting to create a companion that players can add to their gaming experience.
“SIMA isn’t trained to win a game; it’s trained to run it and do what it’s told,” Tim Harley, a Google DeepMind researcher and SIMA co-lead, told reporters.
To help the tool learn how to work with players rather than win, the AI is being trained on games without a linear end goal, such as “No Man’s Sky,” “Teardown,” “Valheim” and “Goat Simulator 3.”
SIMA is currently able to perform roughly 600 functions when asked to do so by a player. This includes climbing a ladder or opening a map. The researchers hope it will eventually get to a point where players could ask it to go to an area and set up a base, though that remains far away for now.
Google’s approach to creating this AI differs from other video game AI ventures, which have been creating AI agents that dominate the field. AI is also being used in gaming to create interactable characters who have unique dialogue and stories every time a user interacts with them.
While SIMA is currently being developed for use in video games, the researchers hope its technology will eventually be applicable in the real world to respond and act to complex voice commands.
“Ultimately, our research is building towards more general AI systems and agents that can understand and safely carry out a wide range of tasks in a way that is helpful to people online and in the real world,” the researchers said.
Movieguide® previously reported on the intersection of gaming and AI:
As generative AI is set to impact many professions, the technology will bring major changes to the video game industry by removing menial tasks and making games more immersive.
Most modern video games include non-playable characters, known as NPCs, to add a level of interaction to the game. Game developers program these characters’ movements and dialogue.
“When we think about those NPCs, they look a bit weird,” Alexis Rolland, development director of La Forge China, a branch of Ubisoft’s research and development unit, told CNN. “You can tell there is something off about what you’re seeing or hearing.”
However, Generative AI has the potential to shake this up. Earlier this year, La Forge launched its Ghostwriter tool, which has the ability to generate new text every time a player talks to an NPC and generate body gestures based on the new text.
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