Microsoft is reportedly experimenting with using Minecraft’s artificial intelligence (AI) to allow players to use natural language commands to manipulate characters and create things in the game.
Despite the game’s popularity and longevity, with over 238 million copies sold and numerous updates, mods, and spin-offs, the incorporation of AI technology into Minecraft may have implications for the game’s appeal and gameplay experience.
According to Semafor, a person familiar with the matter revealed that Microsoft is internally demonstrating the new feature, which utilizes AI technology. Still, Microsoft has no immediate plans to roll out the feature to public builds of Minecraft. The technology that powers the feature is not OpenAI’s Prometheus model, which powers the Bing Chat service.
It is not the first time Microsoft has utilized AI technology in Minecraft. In June 2022, OpenAI trained a “behavioural clone model” by showing it 70,000 hours of video, which enabled the AI to play like a human being. The model could perform complex tasks, such as crafting a crafting table, crafting a stone pickaxe, and building a wooden shelter, at a faster speed than a human being.
However, incorporating AI technology into Minecraft raises questions about the gameplay experience. One of the essential features of the game is the need to gather materials and create things using your own hands, which makes it attractive to players. Using natural language processing and advanced machine learning to build things in the game might reduce players’ need to collect and combine materials themselves, which could affect the game’s appeal.
Moreover, incorporating AI technology in Minecraft may lead to boredom among players, as the game’s attraction stems from the player’s ability to create things themselves. Incorporating AI technology in Minecraft may make people bored of the game too early, as it may become just playing with something someone else made.
We will have to wait and see how incorporating natural language processing and advanced machine learning into Minecraft will impact Minecraft and many other games.
