How AI can change the way we play games

Abstract

While artificial intelligence (AI) in games is often associated with enhancing the behavior of non-player characters, at its cutting edge AI offers the potential for entirely new kinds of gaming experiences. In this talk I will focus on this frontier of AI in games through three examples of games from my research that are not only enhanced by AI, but would not even be possible without the unique AI techniques behind them. In these experimental games, called NERO, Galactic Arms Race, and Petalz, players become teachers, AI creates its own content, and unique creations are explicitly bred and traded by the players themselves. The discussion will focus on the inspiration for the technologies behind these games (including some related applications) and the long-term implications of unique and creative AI algorithms for gaming.