AI takes on popular Minecraft game in machine-learning contest

Minecraft's open-ended play environment could be ideal for AI research, some researchers say.Credit: Microsoft To see the divide between the best artificial intelligence and the mental capabilities of a seven-year-old child, look no further than the popular video game Minecraft. A young human can learn how to find a rare diamond in the game after watching a 10-minute demonstration on YouTube. Artificial intelligence (AI) is nowhere close. But in a unique computing competition ending this month, researchers hope to shrink the gap between machine and child -- and in doing so, help to reduce the computing power needed to train AIs. Competitors may take up to four days and use no more than eight million steps to train their AIs to find a diamond.