LogIn"Please work on literally anything else."
Sony
Video game companies keep experimenting with artificial intelligence, and it can be hit or miss. Unfortunately for Sony, its venture into the field with AI-powered Aloy from Horizon Forbidden West did not amaze viewers.
The Verge got its hands on a leaked video, which is now taken down due to copyright, showing Sharwin Raghoebardajal, a director of software engineering at Sony Interactive Entertainment, talking to Aloy, who reacted to his words in a monotone text-to-speech voice.
In the video, Raghoebardajal first asked her some questions about her life and then started playing the game with the character describing the surroundings when prompted. She could say whether she saw any enemies and offer ideas on how to deal with them.
The model uses OpenAI’s Whisper for speech-to-text as well as GPT-4 and Llama 3 for thinking. Also, the audio-to-face animation is powered by Sony's own Mockingbird. Raghoebardajal pointed out that this was just a prototype, but that didn't appease players.
Honestly, it's just like any other such technology: Aloy is stiff, and her reactions are robotic and delayed. Viewers called the demo "creepy," "ghastly," "rancid," and "cursed" and asked Sony to "please work on literally anything else." The Bloodborne remaster, for example.
This experiment might potentially set a dangerous precedent by replacing voice actors if it ever gets polished enough to do so – something the industry is worried about. What gives the fears more weight is the fact companies like NVIDIA and Ubisoft have already presented their versions of AI-powered NPCs.
Now, I wouldn't be against characters who can talk freely about anything, but this tech needs to be refined, and the problem of actors losing their jobs must be resolved. Moreover, I think we should fix more important game issues first before introducing talking heads.
Join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.