Existing in the private preview of a batch of computer scientists till now, Microsoft has chosen Github a project hosting site for developers to go public, for everyone to use. The AI research tool is designed to support fundamental research in artificial intelligence that roams the virtual world of Minecraft.
It will help researchers develop efficient, more general artificial intelligence, that can do things like learn, have conversations, make decisions and complete complex tasks by integrating reinforce learning, cognitive science, and ideas from artificial intelligence, claims the company.
Katja Hofmann, a researcher in Microsoft’s Cambridge lab and part of the Malmo team believes the platform will help researchers and developers learn new approaches to artificial intelligence and reinforcement learning where agents can gain insights on how to complete a task by being given a lot of room for trial and error and then being rewarded when they make the right decision. She said:
We’re trying to put out the tools that will allow people to make progress on those really, really hard research questions. We’ve trained the artificial intelligence to identify patterns in the dictation, but the underlying technology doesn’t have any understanding of what those words mean. They’re just statistical patterns, and there’s no connection to any experience.
According to Microsoft, the platform consists of Java version mod and code that helps artificial intelligence agents or bots sense and act within the Minecraft environment. And can run on Windows, Linux, or Mac OS.
Reportedly, researchers can also program their agents in any programming language with an added functionality that will let computer scientists create bots to talk to each other, and to people. It will also let users, ‘Overclock’ to run experiments faster than the usual pace of Minecraft.
