Decades before AI became a big deal, the 1983 movie WarGames portrayed a mainframe computer supposedly using artificial intelligence to play a game of thermonuclear war. It accessed huge databases, ran automated simulations without human oversight, and (finally) learned that playing with nuclear weapons isn’t such a great idea.
Setting aside the two now-tired tropes—that computers can turn on us and that only teenagers know how to use them—it was a fascinating early glimpse into how video games, or at least computers that play games, might use artificial intelligence.
Now AI-based advancements in games are accelerating. Game developers are using AI to make games more realistic, more complex, and more challenging. However, it’s not all fun and games: AI also brings a few downsides, including impacts on the game-development industry, privacy issues, and—potentially—great increases in energy consumption. Click on the link below to see more results…
