Microsoft publishes code for artificial intelligence research in Minecraft

Microsoft has made the code for researching artificial intelligence in Minecraft public on GitHub. The company wants to achieve that everyone can use the code and develop their own artificial intelligence.

Microsoft’s research project was first called ‘Project AIX’, but has now been renamed ‘Project Malmö’. In March, the Redmond-based company already announced that it would use Minecraft as a kind of baby box for artificial intelligence. The intention is that such software can gain knowledge about various concepts on the basis of the virtual world in the game.

Until now, the project’s code was only available to a small group of scientists, but now it’s also available on GitHub. Microsoft writes that, for example, the software offers possibilities to teach artificial intelligence how to create objects in the game. Users can also develop bots that can communicate with people and with each other. Moreover, it is possible to compare one’s own progress with that of others.

According to the project’s researchers, it is only required to be able to program to use Project Malmö’s software. However, no advanced knowledge is required, and interested parties can use different programming languages. The software runs on Windows, Linux and OS X.