Sony's AI Defeats World Champion in Racing Game

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 10th, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that an artificial intelligence (AI) program developed by Sony Group defeated the world champion in the racing simulation game Gran Turismo.

According to the report, Sony Group, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Polyphony Digital collaborated to introduce an AI program called 'Gran Turismo Sophie' and announced this achievement.

Sophie was developed through 'deep reinforcement learning,' a method where the AI learns by trial and error. It played millions of kilometers within the game, autonomously mastering techniques such as course navigation and strategies to outmaneuver competitors. This AI development project was also published this month in the prestigious scientific journal Nature under the title 'Surpassing the Gran Turismo Champion with Deep Reinforcement Learning.'

Sony's Gran Turismo Sophie differentiates itself from the existing AI development trends, which have mainly advanced in one-on-one strategic games like chess and Go. Unlike chess or Go, where possible moves can be calculated, racing games require real-time decisions on acceleration and steering controls, making the learning methods and AI development approaches fundamentally different.

Hiroaki Kitano, CEO of Sony AI, stated in a press release, "We believe this breakthrough will not only contribute to the gaming industry but also provide new opportunities in fields such as autonomous driving and robotics."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.