It was a matter of time for two of the most promising markets to join forces: video game streaming and artificial intelligence, a technology used in any process nowadays.
Well, Sony has filed a patent for a technology that would allow creating AI-powered digital players that react to viewers’ comments. It would be like creating clones of ourselves, but ones that can adapt and evolve.
This technology could be related to other recently published Sony patents, whose goal is to leverage AI to interact with users and respond to data that the console receives from players.
What is Sony’s patent in the field of AI about?
Sony continues to drive experimental technology with a patent that describes a framework for streaming via artificial intelligence. According to the patent, this framework would allow an artificial intelligence player to interact with a game and stream it through a network, where it could be viewed by “one or more spectators”.
The AI player can incorporate machine learning to model its behavior in the game based on that of human players. It can also analyze “feedback data” and adjust its behavior accordingly. The patent describes other key parameters:
- Analyze response data to determine the level of interest of the viewers.
- Collect training data from viewer comments
- Collect input data from the user’s microphone or camera
- Facial analysis based on data received from a camera.
Sony’s streaming technology could have significant consequences
The boundaries between AI streamers and VTubers on Twitch are already starting to blur, and the technology described in Sony’s patent would bring about a drastic change in the operation of these streamers.
Specifically, data collection methods and interest analysis, if executed to their full potential, could result in streamers tailored to countless different demographic groups.
Given that, in theory, artificial intelligence streamers can broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have countless permutations based on viewer opinions, this technology could have a huge impact on streaming as a whole.
Streaming is bigger than ever, but most Twitch fans follow specific creators for their personality, as they connect with the person behind the screen. It’s hard to imagine a world where AI streaming replaces traditional human-based streaming.
