Google’s new AI will play video games with you — but not to win

Google’s new AI will play video games with you — but not to win

  • Google DeepMind unveiled SIMA, an AI agent designed to learn gaming skills so it plays more like a human rather than an overpowered AI.
  • SIMA stands for Scalable, Instructable, Multiworld Agent.
  • It is intended to eventually learn how to play any video game, including open-world games.
  • SIMA is trained to follow instructions and run games, not to necessarily win them.
  • Researchers want it to mesh well with human players.
  • Google worked with several game developers to train and test SIMA in games like No Man's Sky, Teardown, Valheim and Goat Simulator 3.
  • SIMA does not need custom APIs or source codes to play games.
  • It can learn general gaming skills from open-ended games.
  • Researchers first trained SIMA to understand object manipulation using a Unity environment.
  • SIMA currently has around 600 basic gaming skills but will hopefully learn more complex tasks over time.
  • SIMA is meant to be another player controlled by language instructions, not an autonomous NPC.
  • Its abilities may eventually include talking, but it still has more to learn about playing new games.
  • With advanced AI, SIMA could become the "perfect party member" to help humans achieve victory.