OpenAI releases Universe, a platform for training AIs to play games, use apps

OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research company, wants to let AIs loose in their own universe, where they can learn to play games, use apps and interact with websites. Universe is the name of OpenAI's tool for training AIs on, as it puts it, "any task a human can complete with a computer." Using a VNC (Virtual Network Computing) remote desktop, it allows the AI to control the game or app using a virtual keyboard and mouse, and to see its output by analyzing the pixels displayed on the screen. The source code for Universe posted to Github on Monday, and includes interfaces to a thousand online environments, the company said. Among them are simple browser tasks such as clicking buttons, or copying and pasting items -- but there are also more complex environments, such as the video game Grand Theft Auto V. Training AIs how best to steal cars and shoot bystanders might seem a strange direction to take, given that OpenAI's mission is to build safe AI, and that one of its goals is to enable a general-purpose robot to wield tools -- initially to perform housework.