It looks as though Microsoft has developed AI for Minecraft that will play the game by allowing fans to enter commands to tell it what to do, but the tech giant may not be planning to release it just yet. Famous for its relaxing mining gameplay mechanics and endless opportunities for creativity, Mojang's open-world sandbox game is considered one of the best examples of a rags-to-riches story in the gaming industry, beginning life as a small indie title before going on to dominate the world.
Over the years, there have been so many versions of Minecraft, making it accessible to just about anyone thanks to its multiplatform compatibility. It's hardly surprising that it's sold hundreds of millions of copies since the full release launched in 2011. Over the years, many fans have become very well versed in the game's mechanics, able to build just about anything that comes to mind. But some artificial intelligence could see Minecraft changing the face of gaming once more.
According to a report from Semafor, as spotted by Kotaku, Microsoft has been demonstrating some new AI that allows players to control Minecraft without having to manually move their character. Everything from digging to gathering materials to crafting weapons are allegedly possible in the software, which could result in the AI playing the game almost as if a human is controlling it. However, the report goes on to say that Microsoft has no "immediate plans" to release it for public versions of the game. This artificial intelligence was also not built in Prometheus, the technology that was used in the newest Bing chat service that was launched recently.
This is also not the first time machine learning and Mojang's sandbox IP have come together. At the end of 2022, Nvidia won two awards for its Minecraft AI called MineDojo, with the software allowing the computer to execute a number of complicated commands in the game which, much like Microsoft's example, are achieved by the player giving the AI tasks.
The tech world is currently in the midst of an artificial intelligence boom, with ChatGPT being a major talking point at the moment. While there are concerns about how far the technology will go, particularly with the rise of deepfake videos, there will be others who see the advantages in having algorithms perform duties. For example, Kotaku believes it could make games like Minecraft more accessible if a machine is able to execute commands for players who struggle to use standard gaming peripherals, such as controllers.
Minecraft is available on Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.