Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have given a Second Life avatar the ability to think and make its own decisions, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Named Edd Hifeng by its creators, the avatar is controlled by a corresponding computer that is itself controlled by artificial intelligence and has a limited ability to converse and reason. Second Life was chosen as the medium to test the AI because of its ease of use and reduced risk factor.
“It’s a fantastic sweet spot - not too simple, not too complicated, high cultural value,” Michael Mateas, computer science professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz said.
“I think the real future for this is when people take these AI-controlled avatars and let them free in ‘Second Life,’” John Lester of Linden Labs said, ” … let them randomly walk the grid.”
Sarah Connor couldn’t be reached for comment. Check out the story in its entirety at the link.
Researchers teach ‘Second Life’ avatar to think - [Associated Press]
Tags: ai, artificial intelligence, avatar, edd, game, researchers, second life
