Google DeepMind releases a 3-D world to nurture smarter AI agents

Google DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet that's focused on making fundamental progress toward general artificial intelligence, is releasing a new 3-D virtual world today, making it available for other researchers to experiment with and modify however they wish. The new platform, called DeepMind Lab, resembles a blockish 3-D first-person shooter computer game. Inside the world, an AI agent takes the form of a floating orb that can perceive its surroundings, move around, and perform simple actions. Agents can be trained to perform various tasks through a form of machine learning that involves receiving positive rewards. Simple example tasks that will come bundled with the platform include navigating a maze, collecting fruit, and traversing narrow passages without falling off.