Embedded Files
AI can mimic humans
Unity and Unreal, some of the most well-known software houses connected to video games and VFX development, have both released software solutions to generate lifelike digital humans to be used in video-games and immersive experiences. These tools will soon be available to digital artists and coders all over the world. Nvidia already uses AI rendering technology that increases graphics performance by harnessing the power of a deep learning neural network to boost frame rates and generate beautiful imagery. Unity developed “Emma” is powered by state-of-the-art machine learning and runs in real-time. Her model was trained with deep learning for realistic animation and reasonably emotive performances. The option from Unreal is equally impressive with real-time ray casting (a technique aimed at reproducing realistic illumination on digital objects) providing movie like quality rendering, opening the Pandora’s box on hyperrealistic avatars.
AI is smart
This would come as a surprise to no one. It is known by now to the majority of technology enthusiasts and the public that AI can play games. Some recent examples are the strides made by DeepMind with the Alpha games, proving that AI could surpass humans at playing games due to the overwhelming computational capacity of modern chipsets and continuously more complex machine learning techniques and algorithms. Aspects that, just like children, are taught problem-solving by the relentless work of data tagging performed by hundreds of real humans.
AI creates real emotions
AI are also in our games as masterfully programmed digital agents that use behaviour trees to resemble human-like behaviour and provide a challenging experience to the player. Just think the latest strives with games like Alien Isolation and Half-life. Being chased around a space station with a nightmarish digital creature outsmarting you at each step is something that has a far-reaching audience beyond the niche of gaming enthusiasts. AI can also create compelling narratives, think of AI Dungeon, a game where the story is created for the player based on clever algorithms and in real-time creating unexpected and very personal adventures.
Moving into the Oasis
Virtual reality technology can now create lifelike simulations and computer vision algorithms can make you appear like anything you can imagine thanks to the avatar technology. I myself made an appearance to my work colleagues during a videoconference, using a software to mimic my facial expressions and showing them a digital furry animal that somehow resembled me. What created much hilarity in my colleagues may be just an appetizer of the things to come. There are companies in the world that use virtual reality technology to create completely digital work environments and compel their employees to work in them by promising geographical work flexibility. Digital worlds are not only created by human developers and artists but now with procedural content generation AI can create at random vast synthetic environments. A good example is the semi-infinite world of Minecraft that many people spend hours exploring each day to create their own personalized digital adventures
AI can manage human games
What may be surprising for some is that a lot of sport competitions and decision-making in sports is based on highly complex data analysis software that guides decision-making of athletes, managers, and coaches. A sports club can be considered as a complex system, a set of factors that combine different subsystems cooperating towards a main objective and aiming to solve interdisciplinary issues. The management of human resources could be a valid example, as well as effective interaction with the sport community - it is made of elements that directly or indirectly affect the result of the game.
AI in this context has the potential of aiding the achievement of sports clubs’ goals such as winning a championship, establishing a certain position in the international rankings or organizing business events.
Coming full circle
In this short journey we have seen AI that play games, create games, and manage games. We hinted at how immersive technology can make us live, even shortly in words of fantasy created by AI for our enjoyment. Without going into the metaphysic scenarios popularized by Hollywood, it makes us wonder about the risks and opportunities of such powerful new tools and the enormous responsibility of using it ethically. Using AI generated virtual environments to distract a patient undergoing surgery may be ethically acceptable, but what about compelling people to work in such virtual environments? What if your work boss ends up being an AI-driven metahuman solely optimized for profit? Would that be wrong? The truth as usual is in the eye of the beholder. Yet, the reader is encouraged to reflect and experiment with these new digital opportunities to find the answers to those questions.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse