Sony has published a patent intended to use artificial intelligence to create and control an AI character that monitors the player playing a game and mimics user input in the game (via SegmentNext). Essentially, Sony patented a bot that can play as you play.

The AI profile starts with a basic set of behaviors, but adds to these as it monitors the player's behavior and makes decisions similar to that player. The ultimate goal is an AI profile that plays the game in a similar fashion to the player. The player can let the AI play the game for him or her.

The patent also covers the possibility that the game could notify the player if the AI is struggling to complete a task that could assist the player. It even includes identifying that such tasks have been completed by the player with assistance from the AI.

For this matter, while there is a nightmarish future in which games are played by AI versions of themselves against other AI players, there are also ways in which multiplayer games can continue even when the player has to take a break for a meal, a bathroom break, or to work . It would also help gamers who need accessibility.

There is a movement from across the industry to explore what AI and machine learning can bring to our lives, and it is not surprising that gaming will be a part of it. One example is this: a recent patent from Nvidia hints at the future use of AI in gaming haptics.

Bots have been popping up in games for years, annoying other players and game developers, but Sony's patent suggests a more beneficial system. Especially when it is clear that you are playing against a human or AI.