Just about every AI company trains their driverless vehicle algorithms using simulations. Until now, the simulators themselves weren’t all that interesting. They’re mostly just physics engines designed to be interpreted by a neural network. But Sony just unveiled the most popular autonomous driving simulator ever: Gran Turismo Sport. In case you’re not a gamer: this isn’t advanced software designed to train AIs, it’s a game. And not just any game but the latest in one of the most beloved racing simulation series in history Researchers from the University of Zurich and Sony AI Zurich recently published a pre-print paper showcasing the development of an autonomous agent designed to beat the best human players at the game. Per the team: In other words: It’s a legitimate simulation that’s used by real-world race teams to help determine real, expert-level drivers’ abilities. That’s pretty high praise for a video game. The researchers had a pretty tall order to fill. While AI systems regularly outperform humans in games such as chess and Go, standard computer-controlled racers tend to fair poorly against expert human players. The researchers write: Rather than cheat or tweak the rules, the team turned to a facet of AI called deep reinforcement learning. This involved training the AI to recognize the road ahead and react in a more human-like fashion. Other racing games apparently close the gap to human experts by granting an unfair advantage to the NPC, for example by increasing the engine power of the NPC’s car; this, however, leads to frustration among human players who feel cheated. According to an article by Tech Xplore writer Ingrid Fadella, Yunlung Song, a co-author on the team’s research paper, said: To the best of our knowledge this is the first time an autonomous car AI has beaten human experts in Gran Turismo Sport. And while there currently exists no artificial intelligence system capable of level five autonomy (able to drive a vehicle with no external aids or human-assistance), if you absolutely must ride in a vehicle controlled by an AI: may as well pick the one trained in a video game about pushing the physical limits of speed and control. You can read the whole paper here. So you’re interested in AI? Then join our online event, TNW2020, where you’ll hear how artificial intelligence is transforming industries and businesses.
