Minecrafts AI For CodeWriting Points To The Future Of Computers
Microsoft has recently demonstrated how artificial intelligence can be integrated into many software applications by writing code on the fly.
At the Microsoft Build developer conference today, the company's chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, demonstrated an AI aid to the game Minecraft. The game's non-player character is powered by the same machine learning technology Microsoft has been testing to create software code. This feat shows how AI advances could revolutionize personal computing over the next few years, replacing interfaces that you tap, type and click to navigate into interfaces you have a conversation with.
The Minecraft agent responds to commands entered by typing them into code that runs behind the scenes, using the software API for the game. The AI model that is in charge of the bot was trained using vast amounts of code and natural language text Then, it was shown the API specifications for Minecraft and some examples of how to use it. The AI model that runs the base will automatically generate the code needed to move the agent towards the player when the player tells it "come here." PREMIUM E was able to complete more complex tasks in the Build demo, such as retrieving items and combining them to create new things. The model was trained on natural language and code, it can even respond to questions on how to create things.
Although it's not certain how reliable the system will work outside of the demonstration, similar tricks could be employed to make different applications respond when spoken or typed commands are given.
Microsoft has built an AI software for coding named GitHub Copilot on top of the same technology. It will automatically suggest code whenever a developer begins typing, or in response to the comments added to a code. Scott states that Copilot is the first of many "AI-first products" from Microsoft and other companies in the future. books says that AI-based code writing "allows you to think in a different way about software development so that you can communicate your vision for something you want to accomplish."
Scott does not give specific examples, but it could one day mean an upcoming version of Windows that can locate a specific document and emails it to a coworker when you ask it to, or an AI-imbued version of Excel that transforms a data set into a chart when you are asked. Scott says there will be many productivity wins for everyday cognitive tasks that nobody enjoys.
In recent years, AI has proven adept in tasks like classifying images, transcribing music, and translating text. New AI programs can produce coherent text-like computer code, thanks to the latest algorithmic advances and huge amounts of computer power.
The Minecraft bot was built using an AI model called Codex which was created by OpenAI the AI company which received funding from Microsoft in the year 2019. Codex was trained using natural language text from the internet and billions of lines from GitHub, a popular software repository that is owned by Microsoft.
Microsoft's Copilot was initially made available to a limited number of users in June 2021. Copilot is currently used daily by more than 10,000 developers, who create at least 35 percent, their code in popular languages like Python and Java using Copilot. The company plans to make Copilot free for everyone to download this summer. To build something like the Minecraft bot, developers would require the core AI model, Codex.
Developers are worried about Codex and Copilot, as they fear that their jobs could be automated. The Minecraft demo may trigger similar concerns. But Scott says the feedback for Copilot has been largely positive, suggesting that it simply simplifies more complex code tasks. "If you speak to a developer who uses a Copilot they'll tell you 'this is such a wonderful tool that it's amazing,'" he says.
