- Sony has announced Sony AI, its new R&D AI division.
- This new AI research division will develop AI in gaming, gastronomy, and sensors and detecting.
- AI could do some truly amazing things for gaming, from human-like NPCs to truly intelligent digital assistants.
Sony recently announced the forming of Sony AI, a new division aiming to “unleash human creativity.” Obviously, they intend to do this by heavily researching AI technology. Physical and virtually, Sony AI will be developing new ways for AI to interact with the world.
While Sony AI will be focusing on sensors and detecting, and gastronomy as well, gaming will benefit greatly from the new division. This brand new branch of AI R&D could have a pretty big impact on future PlayStation consoles. Just imagine the sort of advantages that advanced AI could bring to the world of gaming.
What Sony AI Could Do for Gaming
The most obvious thing that AI affects is the behavior of NPCs in games. More advanced AI means that characters not controlled by the player will be more human-like. Having enemies and allies respond more realistically will make games more immersive than ever. That’s only the tip of the iceberg too.
With advanced AI, it would be possible that the very way that narratives are structured could change. If AI was advanced enough, it could literally write changes to game stories on the fly. Each time you played through such a game would be entirely different. On top of that, advanced voice synthesis technology would enable such stories to retain voice acting as well. Of course, this level is a far way off into the future, but it’s nice to see Sony taking the first steps into making it a reality.
Another huge leap forward provided by AI would be in VR. Obviously it would be useful for predicting physical environmental reactions on the fly, such as water movement as you run your hand through it, but there’s more. Once again looking quite far forward sees a world in which advanced AIs can interpret human sensory data and relay it to and from game consoles. In short, AI will be the thing that helps to make ‘full-immersion’ VR possible.
What Sony AI Could Do for Gamers
One of the least thought about, but most helpful, areas that AI could be useful is in consoles themselves. Most devices these days have a virtual assistant, as do a lot of homes. As we move closer and closer to ‘smart home’ devices being widespread, AI is going to start playing a role.
Currently, most digital assistants or smart devices can only really respond to specific commands. When you say something, they’ll have a programmed response. With AI it would be possible for these assistants to respond in a more human-like way, such as holding conversations. They’d also be able to interpret what was being said to them; instead of having to use specific keywords, you’d be able to just ask your AI assistant to do things like you would to another human.
Not only would Sony AI be able to release these assistants as smart home devices, but they’d also be able to include the assistant on future versions of the PlayStation. You’d be able to ask your PlayStation to download some games, play a video on Netflix, and message your friends all without using specific keywords or commands. Basically what I’m saying is that Sony AI might actually lead to a future in which each PlayStation comes pre-packaged with their own version of Jarvis from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That is if Sony AI actually goes anywhere.
