A new tool lets artificially intelligent algorithms control computers the way a human would

Artificial intelligence (AI) is usually built into the software we use, from automatic tagging on Facebook to chatbots in Google and Apple's mobile operating systems. Instead of injecting AI into software, a new tool from OpenAI teaches algorithms to control a computer the way a human would: by looking at pixels and using a virtual keyboard and mouse. The tool, called Universe, is meant to be a one-stop shop for a popular flavor of AI research called reinforcement learning, where an AI agent tries to accomplish a task, learning from its mistakes over thousands or millions of iterations. With it, researchers could teach an algorithm to theoretically master any task a human could complete on a computer, from video games to browsing the internet looking for information. Universe also acts as a standardized benchmark for AI, as it can compare human and machine performance on certain tasks.