AI News
The latest news and reviews on artificial intelligence software, hardware and AI research.
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A day in the life of an Age of Conan designer
Joe Hegarty is an AI Designer for Funcom's Age of Conan project. And, it appears, he loves his job. In a 'Day in the Life' article at TenTonHammer, Hegarty describes the sheer enjoyment he gets from breathing life into the inhabitants of Hyborea. From street preachers to wayward children, all the way up to Conan himself, his work makes the NPCs we'll be interacting with on launch day all the more meaningful. The designer gives several examples of where you'll see his work in action, and even describes some of the behind-the-scenes mechanics driving the NPC's decisions. The designers at Funcom have a series of tools at their disposal, from in-house software to theoretical constructs. Hegarty mentions Maslow's hierarchy of needs as one of these supporting constructs; NPCs essentially have a priority list of needs, ensuring that you'll see them doing a variety of activities as you move through a given area.Fascinating stuff, and with the Open Beta kicking off tomorrow, something we'll all be experiencing very soon.
Fruit fly flight simulator could smarten up robots
Wondering just how we mere mortals were going to even give a robot enough smarts to completely overtake our societies? Oddly enough, some of that artificial brain power could come from studying the way fruit flies, um, fly. A completely bizarre flight simulator at Caltech actually plays "scenes" that flys react to, and considering that the fly is constantly held, researchers can closely examine how the insect attempts to navigate away from lines, blobs and all manners of incoming obstacles. Those working with the installation suggest that these studies could one day help autonomous robots function better, potentially taking some of the load off of our human workforce. We know, you've got three bold letters and a question mark running through your noggin right now -- just hit the read link to see what it's all about.[Thanks, Dave]
Scientists devise software that can interpret attractiveness
Believe it or not, this isn't the first time we've seen software created in order to determine whether a subject is drop-dead gorgeous, but scientists at Tel Aviv University have seemingly concocted a program of their own that can "interpret attractiveness in women." Before you ask, the researchers have yet to perfect the art of computing the beauty of males, but they're attributing said omission to the difficulty in "defining" attractiveness in dudes. Nevertheless, the software was purportedly able to reach nearly the same conclusion as humans about how lovely (or not) a hundred different ladies were, as it broke down features like face symmetry, smoothness of the skin and hair color. We're told the development could eventually be used in "plastic and reconstructive surgery and computer visualization programs," but c'mon, this is totally meant to automate the grueling Hot or Not process.[Via Physorg]
Researchers claim to have developed robotic AI on par with a puppy
The robot uprising, it inches ever closer -- researchers working on the EU-funded COSPAL project have developed a new robotic AI that they say is the most advanced of its type ever created. Using both learning neural AI techniques and traditional rules-based AI as a control mechanism, the robot can be trained "like a child or a puppy," and has managed to figure out simple sorting tasks on its own. The next step is to try and integrate the system into a car that can adjust to unforeseen driving conditions, but the researchers in charge aren't worried about creating an army of KARRs set to mow us all down -- according to researcher Michael Felsberg, adult-level AI based on this system probably won't happen in our lifetimes. On the other hand, we've heard machines will match us by 2029 -- that'll be a fun debate to have when we're all slaving away in the robo-mines.[Apologies for the terrible photo -- sure, COSPAL can develop puppy-level AI, but they're apparently still rocking a QuickTake 100.]Read - Physorg article on the COSPAL robotRead - COSPAL site
AI hits Second Life
Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created an artificial intelligence to drive an avatar in Second Life. Currently their AI has the smarts of a typical four-year old child, but it is capable of listening to what is "said" (in text) in Second Life and reacting to it appropriately as well as moving the avatar and typing its own replies.Whilst a four-year old might not sound like much to the uninitiated, Professor Bringsjord, leader of the project and head of the Cognitive Sciences Department points out that to fully mimic adult behaviour would take a super-computer. As well as learning about creating AIs, the team are able to test theories about the development of the human mind. There is a (rather large) video of Edd the AI demonstrating that he can't put himself in the mind of another person (something typical of 4 year olds), and chatting briefly to two "normal" avatars available.
Molyneux boasts about his post-Fable 2 project
Mad scientist extraordinaire Peter Molyneux has made a great discovery! In an interview with GamersGlobal, the Fable 2 designer talked about an AI-focused experiment codenamed Dmitri. The experiment became a game six months ago after "a discovery was made." Said Molyneux, "I think that discovery is so significant... This discovery has lead us to start a game and that game will be on the front cover of Nature magazines and Science magazines." That's assuming the AI project doesn't develop self-awareness and kill us all.As for a release date, Molyneux said it would come out when "trees still [have] leaves, but with a brownish tint." Though our first thought is September, we've gone ahead and sent to Microsoft a picture of the official Joystiq elm tree spray-painted with the proper color in the hopes of an early review copy.
Professor decries robotic killing machines, clearly prefers to do killing himself
So the military is continuing down the totally inevitable path of computer-controlled autonomous robo-warriors capable of fighting deadly human battles on our behalf -- and out come the naysayers like U of Sheffield prof Noel Sharkey, who, at The Ethics of Autonomous Military Systems conference in London, decried the bots' self-determined killing abilities as "a threat to humanity" -- especially if they're captured and re-purposed by terrorists to do their evil bidding. Sharkey exclaimed that he's "worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot making decisions about human termination terrifies [him]," but -- and we're just gonna throw this out there -- what if being oppressed by a race of automatons run amok were actually an improvement over our corrupt governments of men? Isn't that a possibility, too? We're certainly going to keep telling ourselves it is, thankful we've somehow managed to not be overthrown by our own creations. Thus far.P.S. -We dare you, commenters, NOT to bust out the welcoming our robot overlords cliché.
TTH video shows new TR AI changes
The good people over at Ten Ton Hammer have a video up showing some of the new changes that the Destination Games crew has made to the artificial intelligence of a number of common Bane enemy units in Tabula Rasa. Narrated by a developer, they explain how encounters with Thrax Pistol Soldiers, Lightbenders, and Juggernauts will be different than players are accustomed to, as each unit has gained a skill that will require tactics and quick-thinking to avoid. Thrax Pistol Soldiers now drop a small robot when they die which will blow up nearby corpses, Lightbenders now have a blinding attack which will momentarily incapacitate anybody who gets too close, and Juggernauts have gained a Reality Ripper-esque ability to pull players to within their preferred firing range.These new attacks, brought into the game in patch 1.5, will definitely throw a wrench in the ways that players are accustomed to approaching encounters. Lightbenders and Thrax Pistol Soldiers are among the most common units in the game, so this fix should be evident almost as soon as logging in. The video also makes mention of the new AFS mech attacks that we showed you a few days ago. It's my hope that in the next round of AI upgrades, they make the typical AI grunt slightly more formidable, as it's becoming increasingly common to see them set up by Tree Lurkers and ticks
Kurzweil predicts that machines will match man by 2029 -- bring it on
Famed technologist and futurist Ray Kurzweil is on the record about human-machine intelligence parity: it's going down by 2029, so be prepared to get digital on entirely new levels. Apparently, machines "will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence" by then, but even if it's not in the form of meatbag-terminating cyborgs, Kurzweil thinks one future of intelligent machines is on the nano scale, with interfaces to enhance our own physiology and intelligence. Oh sure, this stuff is completely pie in the sky -- but it's still absurdly fun to think of what kinds of crazy crap the 21st century's going to hold.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Science says: Neurotic AI has a gaming edge
While we're not sure how comfortable we are with our artificial intelligence constructs having human-like personalities attached to them, we are interested to know what affect those personalities would have on our robot overlords' videogame abilities. So we suppose it's a good thing that the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence conducted a study to see what types of AI personalities were best suited to games.The study programmed four artificial intelligence agents to play single-player Age of Mythology with four distinct play styles: aggressive, defensive, normal and neurotic, the last of which was saddled with ostensible drawbacks such as "irrational assessment of resource value" and "tendency to resort to extreme playing styles." Despite these drawbacks, though, the neurotic AI played itself to a perfect 7-0 record and, surprisingly, achieved wins 3-12 minutes faster than its opponent AI, on average. The takeaway from all this? If you see Woody Allen in the Xbox Live lobby, beware!View - Study presentation slides (PDF)Read - Study summary at Mind Hacks
Jumpgate's A.I. evolves
More details have emerged from the jumpgate via Steve Hartmeyer's Dev Journal over on MMORPG.com. Steve is a programmer at NetDevil working on the hotly anticipated (at least it is for many of us here at Massively) space combat MMO, Jumpgate Evolution.Steve's latest entry, AI System: Nuts & Bolts, takes us on an amazing detailed journey through the evolution of Jumpgate's artificial intelligence system. He explains how it morphed from "simply" populating space and simulating everyday tasks of an immense number of AI ships to a system that ultimately allows players to react to and participate in spontaneous events originated by the AI itself! Uh... holy crap! No wonder the dev team is so stoked about this game's AI system. Between the comparison to X-wing games we heard about yesterday, and now learning of the off the charts Intelligence Quotient of the AI... the needle just done popped off my Hot Meter! But there's more to it then the pure glee of such a cool game on the horizon. When you realize the capabilities of today's gaming AI (not just in JE, but where gaming AI is at right now and where it will likely lead), it all actually gets a bit creepy-cool in the "Wow, this sounds a lot like the theoretical beginnings of the Matrix or Cyberdyne Systems' development of Skynet" sort of way. Things that make ya go hmmm...
The Daily Grind: Player vs Punk
As a mechanic, PvP is meant to give players the ultimate challenge. No matter how tough you make an AI enemy, an actual person will always pose a more interesting/challenging threat due to their unpredictability. The essential issue is that people -- while anonymous -- are often complete and utter punks.A good deal of initial player experience with PvP is pretty close to someones first experience with a root canal. It's also similar in the sense that if you've never had that experience you're probably better off for it. Lastly, one other way they're similar (to me, at least) is my firmly held belief that every player is like a spawn of Steve Martin from Little Shop of Horrors. It fits quite well, a lot of the people who enjoy PvP take great amounts of pleasure in pummeling heads into the ground. So what do you think dear reader? Is all PvP bad, or are there games out there that you think have or will remedy the issue?
AI middleware makes its way to Wii
Knyogon, the company who brought AI tech Kynapse to the industry, has announced that its middleware is now available to Wii developers. It was used in the Xbox 360 game Crackdown and is also being implemented into the upcoming Fable 2. But, as far as Wii developers using the middleware, details are less clear. Knyogon's press release states that 2 developers are utilizing the Wii version fo the middleware as of now, but fails to go into any kind of specifics beyond that. Pierre Pontevia, Kynogon CEO, comments that "Wii is a remarkable success and we are proud to offer Kynapse to Wii game developers. The unique capabilities of Wii allow developers to produce creative forms of gameplay that require innovative AI. Kynapse has been selected by a very significant number of industry leaders for the development of AAA titles." He goes on further to add that "With Kynapse, we feel Wii developers have another critical tool in their hands that helps them unleash the real magic of the Wii system."[Via Joystiq]
Popular AI tech throws support behind Wii
Realism is not the Wii's domain. We've come to terms with this, so much so that our psychiatrist has begun to offer us half-rates for her trouble. Even so, any efforts to help the little console along the path of next-gen righteousness are welcomed. An update today from the AI middleware sleuths at Kynogon is certainly that, as the company has announced support for the Wii, offering their popular AI tech Kynapse to Wii game developers in order to help keep their NPCs from running around all willy-nilly.Kynapse is already used in a number of other titles, both currently available and in production for a variety of platforms, including Crackdown, Alone in the Dark, and the upcoming sequel to Fable, and while no Wii developers have come forward and announced titles they expect to take advantage of the AI solution, Kynogon notes that Kynapse has already been tapped by two different studios for use in upcoming Wii projects. Who knows, maybe someday soon we can quit visiting the shrink altogether.
Intelligent coasters create new wave of drinking games
Believe it or not, engineering minds have figured out a way to gadgetize even coasters, but Sentilla's Smart Drink Coasters hope to be the zaniest yet. Designed using vanilla glass coasters from Michael's (an arts and crafts store), one of Sentilla's diminutive pervasive computers, a handful of LEDs and a few other ingredients, these units can not only blink in different ways depending on how full / empty one's beverage is, but they can be used to create a whole new world of drinking games. Reportedly, the gizmos can be programmed to understand when a drink is on it and when a refill is needed, theoretically enabling a bartender or server to be alerted of one's drink status without even going over to check. Additionally, a set of coasters can be used to replicate a memory game much like "Simon," which could undoubtedly create a room full of laughs in the right circumstances. Granted, this all works under the assumption that you'll actually slam your container down on (i.e. not just nearby) the intelligent coaster, but if you think you're that coordinated, hit the read link for a full description and a video demonstration.
Researchers set sights on uber-dexterous robotic hand
Dr. Honghai Liu, one of the two researchers heading up a project to craft an exceptionally deft robotic hand, has called such a device "one of the holy grails of science," and honestly, we can't say we disagree. He, along with Professor Xiangyang Zhu, was recently award a Royal Society grant to further research the possibility of using artificial intelligence to create software that could "learn and copy human hand movements." A sensor-laden cyberglove has been used to capture data about how the human hand moves, and the duo hopes to eventually use the findings to produce the "perfect artificial limb." Of course, there's no telling how long it'll take for such technology to actually be perfected, but we can already see the line forming with folks eager to swap out their own hand for one a bit more adept.[Via The Raw Feed]
Lead producer of Jumpgate Evolution writes Developer Journal on AI
Lead producer of Jumpgate Evolution Herman Peterscheck has posted a developer journal at MMORPG.com about the artificial intelligence used in the upcoming space MMO. Peterscheck describes how the AI in Jumpgate Evolution is employed to craft a universe that will feel alive to players.At the most basic level, Peterscheck tells how the AI should be able to do anything that a player does -- mining, trading, combat, etc. On top of that, the NPCs will have behaviors, like patrolling, decisions on if they like you or want to blast you out of space, and when to chicken out of a fight. The aspect that he believes is perhaps one level above what you might see in a lot of other games, however, is the way that the AI will react to situations occurring in the world.
Together, PS3s can be very brainy
Students from UC Irvine and Dartmouth college have netted themselves the $10,000 prize at IBM's Cell Broadband Engine Professor University Challenge on September 24. By connecting three PlayStation 3s together the team have emulated functions of the human brain - specifically, visual recognition algorithms. While other gaming platforms had substantial lag when performing visual recognition tasks, the PS3 lowered that to only a second of thinking time in order to recognise an object.This marks only the beginning of the group's research into utilising artificial brain algorithms for use in robots, cars and other machines. Recreating the human brain, curing cancer - what can't the PS3 do? Maybe one day it'll even have some games to play. We kid, we kid ...[Via Digg]
Sony Ericsson W890i to make good on W880i's shortcomings?
A random Polish auction site probably isn't the first place we'd think to look for leaked prototype Sony Ericsson hardware, but heck, maybe it should be. This here stylish, brown, brushed metal candybar showed up recently on allegro.pl, bearing the telltale "SE123" badge on its rear and all the signs of a successor to the 9.4mm W880i: a listed 3.2 megapixel camera (up from the Ai's 2 megapixel piece), UMTS, 12mm case thickness, Memory Stick Micro M2 slot, and a slightly -- okay, significantly less ridiculous numeric keypad. You might argue that it's a step down in the looks department from its supposed predecessor, but with the better cam, better keypad, and we'd imagine a slightly tighter fit by launch, we're guessing it'll have a few takers. You didn't forget EDGE this time around, did you, Sony Ericsson?[Via Unwired View]
Cognitive Code shows off SILVIA artificial intelligence platform
Cognitive Code looks to be taking full advantage of the TechCrunch40 conference to show off its SILVIA artificial intelligence platform, which it calls a "fundamental conceptual breakthrough in artificial intelligence." Apparently, the platform allows for the "development and deployment of intelligent applications to almost any platform" (which we can only hope includes robots), allowing for human interaction in "completely natural and intuitive ways." What's more, it looks like the system should be relatively easy to implement (at least in AI terms), with a complete set of GUI tools available for "developing intelligent entities," and an array of scripting APIs at developers' disposal to embed SILVIA in their applications. If that's not enough, Cognitive Code is also apparently hard at work on a portable version of SILVIA for PDAs and smartphones, with it apparently set for release in late 2008.
