The most advanced AIs today excel in specific tasks, outperforming top human players in complex games like Starcraft II and Go. However, when faced with challenges outside their expertise, these AIs often struggle. Developing a generalist AI is a significant focus of current AI research, and a team at Facebook is tackling this challenge by training an AI in the popular game Minecraft.
Facebook believes that the game's simplicity and sandbox environment make it an ideal platform for developing a generalist assistant AI. In Minecraft's 'Creative' mode, players can construct intricate designs, such as the Starship Enterprise, using a limited set of easily managed building blocks. This potential for boundless creativity, combined with the challenge of teaching an AI to understand natural language, has led Facebook to dedicate substantial time and resources to a private Minecraft server.
The ultimate goal is to create an AI assistant capable of assisting users with everyday tasks, a pursuit Facebook has been engaged in for several years. In 2015, Facebook introduced M, an AI-powered personal assistant within the Messenger app, but discontinued it after two and a half years due to its limitations, such as the need for human supervision and low usage outside a few specific tasks.
With further development and refinement, Facebook's Minecraft AI could serve as the foundation for a future iteration of M, enhancing its capabilities and effectiveness in everyday applications.