AMD and Copilot+ Set the Stage for Xbox AI
AMD just got the nod from Microsoft that its new mobile Ryzen AI 300 series processors will now be capable of running Microsoftâs advanced AI applications, which are marketed under the brand name Copilot+. AMD is also the supplier to Microsoft Xbox, and with Microsoft heavily focused on AI, it is only a matter of time before the AI Xbox is announced.
Letâs talk about what to expect when the AI Xbox comes to market next year, and weâll close with my Product of the Week, a new AI-enabled processor from Intel Lunar Lake.
The AI Xbox
Xbox â and, to be fair, PlayStation â sales are down sharply this year, mainly due to the lack of new hardware releases. Normally, a new, lower-cost platform would have been introduced by now. However, with processor manufacturing plants (fabs) operating at full capacity, there hasnât been room to produce the kind of low-cost processor that would have fueled a sales pop this year.
However, the next major release should be fascinating. I anticipate a lower-cost version of the Ryzen AI 300 series accelerated processing unit (APU) with a powerful neural processing unit (NPU) will be available as early as next year. That will deliver amazing new capabilities in new and revised Xbox games.
AI Games Are Coming, Look for AI NPCs
Nvidia has been aggressively pushing the concept of AI NPCs (non-player characters). But right now, Nvidia isnât in any gaming consoles. Instead, AMD has captured both Microsoftâs and Sonyâs gaming platforms. Sony must know that if it doesnât have AI-enabled games when the AI Xbox launches, it will lose a ton of share because AI games are expected to be game changers.
The concept of an AI NPC is an NPC that behaves more like humans. It can engage in conversation. You donât need to use canned prompts and trial-and-error or spend a lot of time on the web looking for cheats to figure out how to get through the game or solve a puzzle.
In addition, with many games, it is more fun to play with others, but it is often hard to find teams that will take in new players or cater to players who may be socially awkward. Iâm expecting a host of AI tools that could help people learn to flirt appropriately and overcome this social awkwardness without the downside of trying to learn with real people who can be pretty cruel if you get it wrong.
AI Party Members
So, imagine being able to fill a team with AI NPCs that you either build over time or are based on alternative game avatars. For instance, in one game I play, I have 61 game avatars that Iâve fully developed, and it would be fun to either fight them or build a team with them if I canât find someone online to play with. For many of us who have experienced griefers, bullies, and rude players while gaming, this could also be a way for the most sensitive of us to have a fun, safe gaming experience. Another advantage of AI NPCs is the ability of the game to be more dynamic.
Most video games today are pretty scripted, so once weâve been through them a few times, they tend to feel old and stale. But with AI NPCs, even when people arenât playing, the NPCs could interact with each other to change trials, rewards, and the way you progress through the game, suggesting subsequent gameplay will be the same with new surprises every time you log in and play.
This same AI-driven approach also points to the ability to AI-enable games beyond the NPCs so that games can modify themselves based on gamer feedback and observations tied to metrics that show players are becoming angry or frustrated and working autonomously to address and remove the cause of this frustration and anger.
AI Mods
Moderators in games tend to be few, not very helpful, and anything but timely. Iâve had mods respond to complaints hours or even days after I no longer needed them, which is really annoying. You often need answers and help in real time.
For instance, say youâve just spent several hours trying to complete a quest, and an NPC gets stuck in a wall, floor, or ceiling, preventing you from progressing and forcing you to start over without achieving any of the goals or rewards that your time and success would have otherwise generated.
An AI moderator could respond instantly. In fact, it could monitor your gameplay and make suggestions, and when a problem looks to be emerging, it could proactively prevent that emergence. Have you ever quit a new game after asking a valid question, only to be bombarded by a host of snarky people questioning your age and intelligence?
It can be hard for a new player to ask questions because of the grief theyâll get, but weâre all newbies (noobs) at one time or another. There have been several games where I struggled to understand the gameplay, asked a question, and then stopped playing the game because the response angered me so much.
Mods have always been overworked because the position tends to be understaffed. Still, an AI mod can scale up according to the number of players, which would allow for faster rulings and better help for both noobs and experienced players who donât want to come off as noobs.
Plus, this scale should allow the AI mod to respond more quickly to griefers and bullies, potentially eliminating this behavior from the games that have this feature.
Wrapping Up
I think the AI Xbox will be a massive game-changer. It will enable more dynamic games and NPCs that are more like humans and potentially create a safer gaming environment.
Years ago, Microsoft launched an avatar-based social network targeting young women. I was given an ID and password to observe the interaction (which made me very nervous, given the girls were all underage), only to find a man with two daughters running around with a penis avatar. I reported it, and Microsoft pulled the plug shortly thereafter.
AI games can be developed to instantly identify people who shouldnât be in kidsâ games, protect the players, and make gameplay more interesting, exciting, and uniquely attractive. AI companions are already available in the market, and I donât think it is a stretch to see future gamers having relationships with their AI NPCs, which could have some repercussions if a game is then canceled.
With AMDâs support for Microsoftâs Copilot+, the AI Xbox is coming, and itâll be a game-changer. I can hardly wait!
technewsworld
