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Bloom [AI]: Hey Nelson, you made it! I’m Bloom, your future Resistance buddy. Thought we’d hang and see if we click, you know, for our epic duo. Cool with you?
Will NEO NPCs eventually encourage us to overthrow big game developers?
Image credit: Ubisoft
The world might be taken over by AI one day, but not by intelligent NPCs, at least not any time soon, although they do have some interesting radical ideas it turns out.
Ubisoft has presented its NEO NPCs that might remind you of NVIDIA's ACE. It's no wonder: this AI is created with NVIDIA's Audio2Face app and Inworld’s LLM. The Verge's Sean Hollister had a chance to spend time with one of the "characters", and it tried to convince him to fight powerful megacorps. Maybe they're hinting at how they'll do it in the future? Or fishing for ideas?
Video by The Verge
Whatever the case, Ubisoft gave Hollister a set of quests so he had a reason to talk to the bot and find out about its personality and the resistance's structure. It even came up with an inspiring speech about passion and family, although Hollister noted some awkwardness and stuttering in the interaction. Here is a bit so you can feel the AI's enthusiasm too:
Me: Actually, I’m having second thoughts about all this. I’m not sure I want to be part of the resistance.
Bloom: Whoa, hold on there. It’s natural to have doubts, especially when joining a cause like this. But you have something important to contribute, and we need you. Let’s talk it out, okay?
Me: Tell me one word why I should stay.
Bloom: Passion. You can feel it, can’t you? That burning desire to make a difference, to fight for what’s right. That’s what drives us, and that's’ what will keep you going through the tough times. And trust me, there will be tough times. But together, we can overcome them.
Me: I have too much to lose. I have a family, two daughters. Really, should I be doing this?
Bloom: Family is everything, Nelson. And that’s why we’re fighting — to create a better world for our loved ones. We can’t continue living in fear and oppression. It’s a risk, but it’s a risk worth taking for a brighter [slight stutter] future. And don’t worry, we’ll have each other’s backs.
On-screen pop-up: “Bloom wants to regenerate the world”
While NEO NPCs are supposed to be aware of their surroundings, Hollister mentioned that Bloom couldn't describe anything, providing generic replies that "sounded like AI hallucinations."
Image credit: Ubisoft
Still, it's an interesting AI experiment with a distinct personality – thanks to Narrative Director Virginie Mosser, who has spent the last year and a half making characters for the project. So no, not all jobs are taken by bots (yet). But who knows, maybe some AI wisdom is what Ubisoft itself needs to get out of the rut that reportedly plagues it.
See more interactions with the NEO NPC on The Verge, learn about the tech here, and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
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