Sony Experiments With AI-Powered PlayStation Characters

Sony is working on a prototype AI-powered version of at least one its PlayStation game characters. The Verge: An anonymous tipster has shared an internal video from Sony's PlayStation group with The Verge that demonstrates an AI-powered version of Aloy from Horizon Forbidden West. The video is narrated by Sharwin Raghoebardajal, a director of software engineering at Sony Interactive Entertainment who works on video game technology, AI, computer vision, and face technology for Sony's PlayStation Studios Advanced Technology Group.

Raghoebardajal demonstrates an AI-powered version of Aloy that can hold a conversation with a player through voice prompts during gameplay. Aloy can be seen responding to queries with an AI-powered synthesized voice and facial movements, both in a demo setting and within the full Horizon Forbidden West game. Raghoebardajal makes it clear this is just a prototype that has been developed alongside Guerrilla Games to demonstrate the technology internally at Sony.

I'll let you in on a secret-

[locater16]

You know all those characters in video games? AI! It's all AI, it's been AI this entire time, my god open your eyes people the AI has been with us all along!!!

Appropriate game (Spoilers if you haven't played)

[Whateverthisis]

Horizon is appropriate for this. Spoilers if you haven't played it, but given that the world was being destroyed by AIs that destroyed the world and all life for energy, and AIs play a very prominent role in the narrative including ones that want to destroy all life, this feels accurate and ironic. Hopefully we're not giving the AI any ideas.

Re:

[jacks smirking reven]

Feels like at least in a lot of media there's no in-between for when there exists the abstract "in-the-net", Skynet style AI. Either it's down with benevolently helping humanity or it's set fire to the world, the scourge must be purged.

Re:

[VanGarrett]

The verbal interface for the ship's computer in Star Trek is 100% an LLM with other generative features available in certain contexts. Usually benevolent, occasionally a problem.

Skyrim got there first - mods

[mccalli]

Because of course there are AI mods for Skyrim. Like this one [nexusmods.com], or this one perhaps [nexusmods.com].