There is no doubt that “Dota 2” is one of the most successful MOBA titles right now. Its success is even noticeable in the eSports scene. This is best displayed by the annual competitive tournament that Valve introduces, and the latest being TI7.
But interestingly, this year’s tournament featured a bot courtesy of Elon Musk’s start-up company called OpenAI. Believe it or not, it was so robust that pro “DotA 2” players got defeated. Well, here is everything about it in a nutshell.
Introducing OpenAI
According to The Verge, Musk introduced a bot during the tournament.
It displayed some maneuvers that were human-like. The artificial intelligence enthusiast claimed that the bot learned the game’s process in just two weeks’ time, and the process was said to be in real-time, allowing it to amass “lifetimes” of experience and learning. Musk further explained that the AI only needed some data to beat the pros on the scene. He went to say that this was a first in history.
Musk added that unlike chess and “Pokemon GO,” the MOBA title “DotA 2” is a complex game. Regardless, his bot was able to outlearn even the best in the league. In fact, the likes of Danylo Ishutin (commonly known as Dendi) was defeated. The NaVi veteran said that the AI felt “like a human,” but a bit “like something else.” The non-profit startup released a video (embedded below) on their official YouTube channel, featuring the play between the bot and Dendi.
Why was OpenAI founded?
Musk reportedly founded OpenAI in hopes to prevent AI from totally destroying the world. He believes that in the near future, AI will take over if humanity is not careful enough. In a report from CNN, Musk told a group of US governors about the “fundamental risk” of AIs to the very existence of the entire human civilization.
While Musk’s notion is quite remarkable in some way, other AI enthusiasts are not actually happy. Perhaps the most popular one is Facebook’s founder and creator Mark Zuckerberg. The two have been exchanging shots, with each having different takes on the future of artificial intelligence.
OpenAI plans to further improve its “DotA 2” bot as well as its capabilities.
They seek to have it compete with a full 5 vs. 5 format in next year’s tournament. This is definitely a huge milestone in the history of humanity and gaming. But as far as where the AI is focused other than the game, Musk and his team did not specify. Many are now interested to see the impact of Musk's innovation.