Subj : Future PlayStation games could have AI-powered characters, if thi To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Tue Mar 11 2025 17:45:09 Future PlayStation games could have AI-powered characters, if this leaked prototype of Aloy is anything to go by Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:38:30 +0000 Description: AI-powered characters could feature in future PlayStation games, and the Horizon series could be the testbed with an AI Aloy. FULL STORY ======================================================================Leaked footage from inside Sony Interactive Entertainment showed off an AI-powered character Horizon's Aloy was used as the prototype, harnessing OpenAI tech This could be an hint at the future use of AI in PlayStation games Future PlayStation games could have generative AI-powered characters if this leak is anything to go by. A video posted by X (formerly Twitter) user Oliver Darko shows what appears to be leaked footage of a presentation by Sharwin Raghoebardajal, a director of software engineering at Sony Interactive Entertainment, discussing work on an AI prototype as part of Sonys PlayStation Studios Advanced Technology Group. The footage (sadly, it's not available to embed) showed Raghoebardajal interacting with an AI-powered Aloy from the Horizon series; it would appear this prototype has been created with the help of developer Guerrilla Games. Raghoebardajal asks this AI Alyo How are you?, and after a pause, she responds, complete with accurate facial moments, that shes ok but is dealing with a sore throat. The interaction feels a tad stifled and a little uncanny valley but demonstrates generative AI in action. The conversation then evolves into Raghoebardajal asking about the premise of the Horizon series and - *spoilers for Horizon Zero Dawn * - how Aloy feels about being a clone. She responds its a unique feeling. The Verge got access to the full video and repeated that the prototype uses OpenAIs Whisper speech-to-text tech, Sony's own Emotional Voice Synthesis to generate a somewhat realistic voice, and large-language models GPT-4 and Llama 3 to power AI Aloys decision-making. While this is very much a prototype and has some clear obstacles to overcome, like faster responses and less stilted speech, its an interesting demonstration of how AI tech could be used in games. This is just a glimpse of what is possible, said Raghoebardajal, The Verge reported. A new horizon for AI in games? (Image credit: Sony/PlayStation) The natural reaction to this tech would be a concern that generative AI could be used to potentially replace voice actors and writers in the gaming industry. While I think thats a legitimate concern worthy of deeper discussion and scrutiny, from this demo it doesnt seem like generative AI is anywhere near up to the task of replacing the quality of speech and narrative delivered by human development teams, certainly not for AAA games. However, much like Horizon Call of the Mountain was used as a high-end showcase for all the features of PSVR 2 , theres scope that the same approach could be used to create a spin-out game or virtual experience using AI and the Horizon setting. I could imagine a short-form experience where you visit a handful of small hubs across both Horizon games and interact with their inhabitants, who use generative AI tech to answer questions and serve up observations. Equally, given the extensive lore in the Horizon universe, I could see an AI-powered Aloy being used as some form of in-game or app-based companion to serve up information about certain parts of the world or how to tackle some of the robotic enemies. I know from my experience taking on some of the larger dinosaur-like machines in Horizon Forbidden West I couldve done with someone or something directing me on what to target instead of me speedily scanning for vulnerable parts while desperately avoiding unnervingly accurate, health bar-deleting attacks. Of course, Sony appears to be very much at the experimental stage here, and I doubt well see a deluge of AI in PS5 games anytime soon. But Id also be surprised if AI wasn't used in PlayStation games further down the line, say when the PS6 arrives. You might also like The next Xbox could simply be a PC in a 'TV-friendly shell' per latest rumor Upcoming PS5 exclusives - release schedule for confirmed games I rode a dragon, sizzled as a sausage, and won a dance-off with a monkey in Split Fiction, and thats not even the half of it ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/playstation/future-playstation-games-could-ha ve-ai-powered-characters-if-this-leaked-prototype-of-aloy-is-anything-to-go-by --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .