Microsoft is using Minecraft to train AI and now you can too

Minecraft is one of those rare tech phenomenons that came out of the blue (a single person and a Java compiler in this case) and went on to somehow revolutionize its field. For the blocky building-survival simulator that field is definitely gaming, but by effectively redefining the sandbox genre, Minecraft has managed to affect an expected number of other fields as well. Ever since its humble beginnings and especially after Microsoft took over and allowed it to really take off in popularity, the Minecraft world has been a canvas for incredible creativity with projects ranging from epic 1:1 scale reconstruction of buildings to working PC emulators inside a Minecraft map and even a functioning phone. But it is perhaps Microsoft itself that has managed to find the most exciting use of the sandbox to date. It is called Project Malmo (formerly known an Project AIX) and its purpose is to experiment with and train artificial intelligence and advance cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and neural networks.