Microsoft's new software turns Minecraft into a testing ground for AI

Artificial intelligence has beaten the ancient board game of Go, but can it master Minecraft? Researchers from Microsoft are opening up the game to computer scientists who want to train up AI programs.

Using games to test an AI's ability to teach itself a set of rules is an established approach, but most games used so far have been fairly simple. In February last year, for example, the Google-owned DeepMind (the same company that's tackled Go) created an AI that taught itself to play 49 Atari games. This was an incredible achievement, but the games involved were basic, including titles like Breakout that required the AI to only master a few rules (hit blocks; get a high score) in a two dimensional world.

At the time, DeepMind...

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