Custom AI can beat most human foes at FreeCiv -- and that's not even its day job

Beating the AI opponents in a strategy game is the first step any gamer takes before heading online where the real challenge is. Whether they cheat or not, most game AIs are beatable, often with simple, repeatable strategies once you find their weak points. Named HIRO (Human Intelligence Robotically Optimized), the algorithm can beat almost all players -- and that's not even its main job. Arago is an IT automation firm, which develops smart AIs that can streamline businesses and automate many of their functions. HIRO is one such AI, and while it does an excellent job of improving workflows at a number of corporations, it's the way it's trained that is most fascinating. It plays -- very well at that -- the freely available civilization-building game called Freeciv.