Is Google AI Aggressive or Cooperative? Depends on the Circumstance

Google has been testing its latest machine learning system, called DeepMind, to explore the limits of game theory, using AI as a mirror to analyze how we respond to cooperative and competitive situations. The team found that in highly competitive environments, DeepMind will use "highly aggressive" tactics to either win the game or cause as much damage it can to its opponent. The premise for this game was collecting apples, and when apples became scarce, the AI would turn on each other and try to steal as many as possible. When testing the same principle in another game where the AI were taught to cooperate with one another, however, the AI behaved more socially, showing that the AI evaluated its environment to decide the optimal strategy for survival. Using this knowledge, Google can now construct environments and learning scenarios that help AI develop cooperative behaviors.