Microsoft Is Using Minecraft To Improve Artificial Intelligence

Computer scientists at Microsoft Research lab in New York City are training an artificial intelligence agent to learn how to do things like climb to the highest point in the virtual world. They are using Minecraft game as the test world.

Minecraft is ideal for artificial intelligence research for the same reason it is addictively appealing to the millions of fans who enter its virtual world every day. Unlike other computer games, Minecraft offers its users endless possibilities, ranging from simple tasks like walking around looking for treasure to complex ones like building a structure with a group of teammates.

“Minecraft is the perfect platform for this kind of research because it’s this very open world,” Hofmann said. “You can do survival mode, you can do ‘build battles’ with your friends, you can do courses, you can implement our own games. This is really exciting for artificial intelligence because it allows us to create games that stretch beyond current abilities.”

Building a robot and trying to teach it to climb a real hill is costly and impractical, but in Minecraft you have virtually unlimited resources. Microsoft is releasing this Project AIX system for the broader artificial intelligence research community.

The AIX platform consists of a mod for the Java version and code that helps artificial intelligence agents sense and act within the Minecraft environment. The two components can run on Windows, Linux or Mac OS. and researchers can program their agents in any programming language they are comfortable with.

Read more about it from the link below.