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Microsoft might say its top priority right now is security, but it’s been clear for months that AI is just as important. The odd division out has been Xbox, which hasn’t discussed its use of AI much in public. But that changed last week when Microsoft ripped the band-aid off and waded, somewhat clumsily, into the debate over AI in gaming.
Last Wednesday, Microsoft revealed Muse, its new AI model that can generate gameplay. It was trained on Ninja Theory’s Xbox game Bleeding Edge, and it can understand a 3D world and physics and then respond to players’ interactions. While Muse is a Microsoft Research project at heart, Microsoft presented it in a way that linked it directly to Xbox and the future of the company’s gaming efforts. That has divided opinion between those who argue that Microsoft will use this model to build games and lay off developers, and others who think this is still very early and simply another tool in a game developer’s kit.
I’ve been speaking to game developers over the past week to get a better understanding of the response to Muse.