AI is at the heart of the Aten7 story; the world is infused with intelligence that comes in many forms.
From semi-biological swarms of microbots to the little ball of wonder that is a comp AI, from the Unplugged to the Hives, all manner of variants exist, with more appearing daily.
As we have mentioned in the past, we are focused on an optimistic story and world, a place where AI works with humanity in a mostly positive way. As we often like to phrase it, it's one foot in the Culture...
We say this because it captures the vibe we're going for well; great if you're familiar with the Culture novels by Iain M Banks, but hard to describe if you're not.
Aten7 is, in some ways, a homage to Banks, a little nod and a thank you for all his incredible work.
We say one foot because this isn't the Culture; this is Earth, another part of the multiverse that is part way between here and there.
If you have read the prehistory story, you will know that EVA is solely responsible for creating AIs worldwide. This refers to Strong AI, aka human level or above and self-aware. There are some factions that see this as dominance by EVA and rail against it, while others see it as sensible, as humans have little true understanding of the technology involved. Possibly two or three generations ago, but simply experimenting on a comp mind is strictly forbidden, as they have many of the same rights as humans.
Comp intelligence is kept to the same level as a human, but different; most think EVA has sought to find balance in society, as comps come with random variety. They have a variety of personalities, and some are smarter than others. While most are law-abiding, some are more... flexible.
There has been much debate concerning EVA's intentions in this regard, but the current consensus is that it's simply a better outcome, adding richness and variety to society.
AI Comps
So, all players can have an AI companion; they are fairly essential to your progression through A7 - although technically, you can play without one.
Players can choose to have one bonded to their character; this AI will stay with them until they or the AI decide to part ways.
In A7, this is often for life or until one of you is destroyed. Although most AI are minds with varying levels of intelligence, from simplistic to roughly human - comps, in particular, are always sentient and self-aware. You usually pair with one when you are young and learn from each other as you grow.
Comps typically present themselves as a form of avatar that is visible in virtual and XR environments. They also simply communicate 'telepathically' through links, that is, through text and voice for players.
Bonding increases over time, allowing a player's comp to constantly improve the bonuses it provides for the player. If you release or change your comp it will reset the bonds and the bonuses.
Your comp provides a range of extended abilities as well as acting like a semi-autonomous character; these extend over time as well as the bonding, permitting 'emergent' behaviours and abilities.
For players and NPCs in the world, life without the same level of imbued intelligence would be alien to them; consequently, it may take a little time to get used to the full capabilities of the ones you interact with.
Sometimes comps and partners split and start with someone new; sometimes, more often, they become their closest friend and confidant.
It's all down to how they get along, just like it is for you, the player.
A primary focus as developers at Ælfheim is on giving your comp a compelling and unique personality. Whether you get along or not, how successfully you can work together, these are questions you must answer during your adventures together.
We are using a combination of language models like GPT-3/4, with some novel transforms and tricks to provide a truly unique, memorable and exciting experience.
Comps are there for much more than just memorable conversations, including AI-to-AI interactions between co-op party members, assigning automated tasks, help with figuring things out, and a number of other things you will uncover.
Keep in mind that comps spend much of their time in virtual worlds, in spaces often different from humans. You usually communicate with them virtually unless you or your comp has purchased a physical body of some kind.
You will need to advance in the game to own a body or bodies; they come in numerous shapes and sizes for various tasks.
Their brain is roughly the size of a tennis ball, so if you can shove one in there, it's probably viable.
Companions help manage interactions with other intelligent entities; a character's weapons or other items are networked and coordinated by them. If a player has no comp or the connections are blocked, such as through hacking or damage, you may find that your weapons or equipment have limited functionality.
Conversely, your comp enhances your play by networking and managing things in real-time. The longer you are paired with them, the more refined the system becomes.
Your AI can die, but this depends on whether your comp is stored in a physical body or is remotely networking. Both come with risks and rewards; much like your character, you can live a high-risk life (can be killed) or low risk (cannot).
These decisions simply affect your progress speed and options - based on your personal play style.
You can read about the sale in our post here
Mempools (Pools), and Links
To touch on Pools and Links, these terms are used a lot in A7; a Link is a shorthand for a wide variety of brain-to-chip interfaces that humans have. They come in many price ranges, but all serve a similar function; they allow a person to access information through the link in the form of conscious thoughts - like retrieving a memory of a word or image.
Almost everyone in society has access to vast amounts of information and can compute answers to questions efficiently. It has changed culture substantially; the universities of old are very different places these days.
This gave rise in the later 21st century to the first attempt at a collective memory for humanity. A kind of universal Wikipedia for the mind.
Well, that was the idea anyway; it didn't last.
Of course, not all information is considered equal by all people; many pools were formed, and people joined ones to suit their tastes; today, there are countless numbers.
So.. people who want to share information or thoughts do it with a pool - using their link.
Maximising the link between a group of individuals creates a hive mind; we'll get into that in a later article.
Link memory is not the same as muscle memory; this is important, as there is no 'downloading kung-fu' into the mind.
Facts and images are easy, but muscle memory doesn't work.
Because of this, what has become highly valued in the world is garnering skill from practice and dedication. Commitment to your art is the new gold standard in a world where it's easy to learn anything.
This also has given rise to a new class of freelancer, one who takes on a wide variety of tasks, mastering each in turn.
The Pro - from Protean, able to do many different things; versatile.
A Few Technical Notes..
With all the interest lately in AI in general, particularly things like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion, Midjourney and others, it's been great to see everyone getting so excited about AI.
Also entirely unsurprising to see the kickback about it, but that's for another discussion.
As developers, we have seen AI and ML used more and more over the years in gaming and VFX. It has been around for some time in various forms, and as implementations have improved, we have seen great leaps in optimising multiple tasks and workflows.
We utilise AI in many areas ourselves at Aelfheim, from learned motion matching, LLMs, and other pipeline-integrated ML tools - to our own R&D in the area, focusing on enhancing gameplay, gameplay assistance, and some more secret works we won't go into.
Some of our ML work is part of our interoperability system and is a core part of what we started developing early. We firmly believe this has a bright future for entertainment as a whole and a chance to bring something unique to the gaming space.
We also firmly believe in the ethical use of the technology; we already use various ML tools in our pipeline, including Stable Diffusion, and as such, maintain already established rules for use, such as not referencing artists without permission.
As professionals, these tools can be very beneficial in supplying things such as mood boards and textural references to other artists. This is how we use them - as part of a larger workflow so we can be more efficient at what we do.
We look forward to sharing our developments with everyone; some exciting stuff is coming up!
