Why is it in the News?

Google DeepMind recently revealed its latest AI gaming agent called SIMA or Scalable Instructable Multiworld Agent, which can follow natural language instructions to perform tasks across video game environments.

What is SIMA?

• Scalable Instructable Multiworld Agent (SIMA) is an AI Agent, which is different from AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google Gemini.
  • AI models are trained on a vast data set and are limited when it comes to working on their own.
  • On the other hand, an AI Agent can process data and take action themselves.
• SIMA can be called a generalist AI Agent that is capable of doing different kinds of tasks.
• It is like a virtual buddy who can understand and follow instructions in all sorts of virtual environments – from exploring mysterious dungeons to building lavish castles.
• It can accomplish tasks or solve challenges assigned to it.
• It is essentially a super-smart computer program that can be thought of as a digital explorer, having the ability to understand what you want and help create it in the virtual world.

How does SIMA work?

• SIMA  can understand commands as it has been trained to process human language.
  • So when we ask it to build a castle or find the treasure chest, it understands exactly what these commands mean.
• One distinct feature of this AI Agent is that it is capable of learning and adapting.
  • SIMA does this through the interactions it has with the user.
  • The more we interact with SIMA, the smarter it gets by learning from its experiences and improves over time.
  • This makes it better at understanding and fulfilling user requests.
• Based on the current stage of AI development, it is a big feat for an AI system to be able to play even one game.
  • However, SIMA goes beyond that and can follow instructions in a variety of game settings.
  • This could potentially introduce more helpful AI agents for other environments.