Artificial Intelligence
Ongoing coverage on Artificial Intelligence.
Latest coverage
Why China’s Carmakers Are Racing Into Humanoid Robots — Tesla’s Bet, Copied
Chinese automakers, facing declining car profit margins, are heavily investing in humanoid robots, mirroring Tesla's strategy. Xpeng's robotics arm recently secured significant funding, highlighting a broader trend across the sector with companies like BYD and Chery also developing humanoid robots. While hardware manufacturing is a strength for these companies, catching up to Tesla in AI development remains a key challenge.
After AI backlash, Assassin's Creed creator says 1666: Amsterdam "won't be using any AI anymore" and only used it "in conception and pre-production"
Patrice Désilets, the creator of Assassin's Creed, has clarified that his new game 1666: Amsterdam will no longer use AI after initial backlash. While AI was used in conception and pre-production, Désilets stated it has been entirely removed from the project. The game is now available in Early Access on PC.
Bullish Backs USD.AI With a $100 Million Credit Line for GPU-Secured Lending
Cryptocurrency platform Bullish has provided USD.AI with a $100 million debt facility to offer loans backed by graphics processing units (GPUs). This initiative aims to bridge the gap between on-chain capital and the financing needs of AI infrastructure development. The deal also involves listing USD.AI's sUSDai on trading pairs to create a secondary market for GPU-backed debt.
Microsoft-backed AI data center has been accused of violating federal law
A data center backed by Microsoft is facing accusations of violating federal law by allegedly operating numerous large generators without the necessary permits. The allegations suggest a failure to comply with regulatory requirements for its operations.
Saber Boss Reacts To The Death Of Physical Games And Rising Console Prices
Saber Interactive's Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits shared his thoughts on the decline of physical games and the rising cost of consoles. While acknowledging the convenience of digital titles and his personal shift away from physical media, Willits noted that Saber still profits from physical game sales, particularly in Europe. He also speculated about a future "AI box" for games and expressed concern over current console prices, suggesting it will be interesting to see how Sony and Microsoft navigate this trend with future hardware.
Saber Responds To AI Criticisms In Rideshare Game And Promises, “We Will Never Fire Someone And Replace Them With AI”
Saber Interactive's Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits addressed criticisms regarding the use of AI in their upcoming game, Rideshare Simulator, and stated that the company has never fired an employee to replace them with AI. While the main campaign's dialogue is human-written, a "free ride" mode will utilize generative AI for rapid updates referencing real-world events. Saber confirmed that other titles like Hellraiser and Turok do not use AI and emphasized their continued hiring practices, with their writing staff tripling since 2023.
"Somebody will make the Half-Life 2 of AI" - after the Rideshare controversy, Saber CCO says something will come along and "change people's minds" about gen-AI
Saber Interactive's Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits believes a groundbreaking game akin to "Half-Life 2 of AI" will emerge, changing public perception of generative AI in gaming. Despite recent controversy surrounding its use in "Rideshare Stimulator," Saber is experimenting with AI, with Willits emphasizing the need for innovation and the potential for AI to create new experiences, drawing parallels to the initial skepticism surrounding Steam.
Sparkpaw: The Stormstone Quest - An AI game teased for the Amiga 1200 by mrdig
Sparkpaw: The Stormstone Quest is an upcoming action-platformer for the Amiga 1200, developed primarily using AI by mrdig. Players control Sparkpaw, a feline inventor, navigating ruins with an energy gauntlet to find Stormstone Cores. The current alpha showcases the first level with running, jumping, and combat mechanics against various enemies and hazards.
X claims it found a Chinese bot farm posting anti-AI data center sentiments
X has identified a bot farm composed of approximately 200,000 inauthentic accounts, with around 200 specifically targeting and posting negative sentiments against AI data centers. This discovery is part of a broader investigation into coordinated disinformation campaigns originating from China.
Nvidia’s $12.9 Billion Bet on Hugging Face Arrives as the Closed Labs Drift Away
Nvidia is acquiring the open-source AI platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, a price significantly higher than its estimated $150 million annual revenue. This strategic move aims to bolster Nvidia's position in the AI market as major clients like OpenAI and Google develop their own custom silicon, potentially reducing their reliance on Nvidia's hardware. The acquisition is seen as a counterweight to the trend of closed AI labs, securing Nvidia's hardware dominance within the open-source AI community.
Marvell Q2 FY27 earnings results beat revenue expectations, but miss EPS whisper number
Marvell Technology exceeded revenue expectations for Q2 FY27, reporting $2.74 billion in revenue, driven primarily by its $2.17 billion data center business. While the company beat analyst consensus for earnings-per-share (EPS), it fell short of the Earnings Whisper expectation. Despite a slight dip in after-hours trading, Marvell's strong performance in the booming AI and data center component market positions it well for future growth, with a forecast of $3.15 billion in revenue for Q3 FY27.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is “At Least 10 Years Ahead of the Industry” With NPCs, Says IOI’s AI Programmer
IO Interactive AI programmer Berkay Dursun stated that Grand Theft Auto 6's individual NPC simulation technology places Rockstar Games at least a decade ahead of the industry. Dursun clarified that the complex AI in GTA 6 differs significantly from the crowd systems in games like Hitman and Assassin's Creed, which lack true NPC intelligence. He also noted that Grand Theft Auto 6's NPC simulation surpasses that of Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord and IO Interactive's own 007 First Light.
Nvidia clears the bar again — and points to a $108 billion quarter ahead
Nvidia has reported strong fiscal second-quarter results, exceeding analyst expectations with $96.2 billion in revenue and $2.22 earnings per share. The company provided guidance of $108 billion for the next quarter, surpassing the $103.9 billion analysts had predicted. Data center revenue, driven by AI infrastructure demand, accounted for approximately 92% of sales, with CEO Jensen Huang highlighting AI's inflection point and accelerating compute demand.
GTA 6's hand-crafted NPCs have over 600,000 animations compared to only 55,000 animations in GTA 5
Rockstar Games has revealed that Grand Theft Auto 6 features over 600,000 NPC animations, a significant increase from Grand Theft Auto 5's 55,000 and Red Dead Redemption 2's 300,000. This extensive animation work aims to create more unique and reactive non-player characters, with a dedicated office in Los Angeles focusing on their development to enhance world realism and immersion.
James Pond's creator is not happy with the series' allegedly AI-generated legacy collection
Chris Sorrell, the creator of the James Pond series, has expressed strong disapproval of the recently released legacy collection, alleging it was generated using artificial intelligence without proper respect for the original work. Sorrell stated that the developers involved lack respect for the franchise.
Google brings trip-planning features to Search's AI Mode
Google's AI Mode within Search is being updated with new trip-planning features. These include a flight price tracker, hotel booking capabilities, and the option to view costs in miles or points.
If You Thought Console Prices Were Too High, Things Could Get Even Worse
The US administration is reportedly considering new tariffs on imported computer chips, which could lead to increased prices for gaming consoles, laptops, and servers. This potential move aims to encourage foreign tech companies to build manufacturing plants within the US. Previous tariffs have impacted console prices, with companies like Sony and Nintendo benefiting from tariff refunds, though these were not passed on to consumers.
Tides of Annihilation devs are "continuously monitoring new developments" in AI technology, but will be using the techniques they "are the best at" in development instead
Eclipse Glow Games, the developer of Tides of Annihilation, is closely monitoring AI technology but plans to use traditional development methods based on their team's expertise. While acknowledging the rapid evolution of AI, particularly in image generation, the studio emphasizes leveraging their creators' refined techniques for their first project. This approach contrasts with some other companies, like NetEase, which have shown a greater willingness to adopt AI in game development.
I barely remember the last time Nvidia mentioned gaming at all in an earnings call
Nvidia's latest earnings call reveals a significant shift in company priorities, with the data center and artificial intelligence segments now dominating revenue and strategic focus. Gaming, once a core business, is no longer reported as a separate segment and has minimal impact on the company's bottom line, despite the continued release of high-end GPUs like the RTX 50-series.
"All of the industry needs to start to innovate on affordability and efficiency" - Xbox's Asha Sharma wants change and "more choice" for people buying consoles
Xbox boss Asha Sharma is calling for the entire gaming industry to innovate in affordability and efficiency for future console generations, citing current component price crises. She highlighted the need for more consumer choice in how consoles are purchased and used, and mentioned that Microsoft is considering new business models beyond traditional hardware sales. Sharma also noted the impact of AI datacenter demand on component pricing, which has led to recent price increases for Xbox Series S and X consoles.
