Microsoft Shows Off 'Milo' Virtual Human 270
adeelarshad82 writes "At TED Global in Oxford, Microsoft released a video showing off its 'virtual human' technology, named Milo, designed for the company's hands-free Xbox 360 motion controller called Kinect. Milo is built to react to people's emotions, body movements, and voice, allowing players to interact with the virtual character. It was built using artificial intelligence developed by Lionhead studios, along with undisclosed technology from Microsoft. According to games designer Peter Molyneux, the game exploits psychological techniques to make a person feel that Milo is real. Each Milo character will be unique because every player's interaction with the virtual character will sculpt the type of virtual person Milo will evolve to become."
Frightening (Score:4, Insightful)
Honestly, I don't know whether this is the Uncanny Valley manifesting, but that kid just creeps me out.
Re:Frightening (Score:5, Funny)
They want to be sure that none of their next-gen hardware survives user-inflicted destruction long enough to RRoD.
Re:Frightening (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Frightening (Score:5, Insightful)
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The truth of the matter is; although we're just watching a video. Personally, I'd prefer to go down to the park, river or sea and go fishing; interacting with a real person rather than a fantasy boy.
I was born at the start of the 1980s. I got my first computer (Commodore 64) for my 7th birthday. I've spend a lot of my life in front of a screen, growing up with video games as a pastime, then working in computer troubleshooting and website design.
I also play music professionally. The latter I prefer as you ge
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If Milo can't think for himself then he's nothing close to a virtual human.
Re:Frightening (Score:4, Funny)
Microsoft wouldn't give Milo the capacity to think for himself.
If he could, there's the chance he might pick Firefox.
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If Milo can't think for himself then he's nothing close to a virtual human.
But he would be part of Fox News' target demographic.
Re:Frightening (Score:5, Insightful)
I love the irony of your comment and your sig:
If Milo can't think for himself then he's nothing close to a virtual human.
--
You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
Plenty of actual humans can't/don't think for themselves, so why is it a necessary requirement for a virtual human?
Ultimately this wouln't go well. (Score:4, Interesting)
Let's see... what kind of horrible things to people do to Sims? Put them in a house with no toilet? Strand them in pool without a ladder? etc... I shudder at the abuse we'll see attempted and if this thing learns from it's interactions. Ick.
Re:Ultimately this wouln't go well. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Ultimately this wouln't go well. (Score:4, Interesting)
Well... that depends how many lives he has.
Anyway, I look forward to Youtube videos of all the limits of the AI being exposed or having it beg to be shutdown rather than deal with 4channers.
Re:Ultimately this wouln't go well. (Score:4, Insightful)
Let's see... what kind of horrible things to people do to Sims? Put them in a house with no toilet? Strand them in pool without a ladder? etc... I shudder at the abuse we'll see attempted and if this thing learns from it's interactions. Ick.
That demo looks cooked. Microsoft couldn't get basic speech to text to work reliably, they'll need to work harder to convince people that are sitting on a working AI that'll also interact freely with people as was demoed.
Also, I almost can imagine you eating delicious tortured and slaughtered animal stake while you were writing about the human rights of basic software programs.
People have no perspective on things at all.
Re:Ultimately this wouln't go well. (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft couldn't get basic speech to text to work reliably
My thoughts exactly.
Probably straight prerendered video.
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Not to mention that he looks AT her which means she would have seen him looking off to the right just as we do. That is unless that TV was actually a hologram. Wow. Microsoft really is ahead of the game!!
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My thoughts exactly. Probably straight prerendered video.
Keep in mind that the video in the article is over a year old (E3 2009). Presumably, the demo that happened at TED this year was more sophisticated - it's unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be video of that yet.
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Microsoft couldn't get basic speech to text to work reliably
For what it's worth, the issues with Vista's STT demonstration were explained [msdn.com] pretty soon after the incident. Given the nature of the problems, most people at the time anticipated a training/hardware issue. Of course, that doesn't change how funny it was :)
As it happens, Vista and Win7's voice recognition is actually pretty good for software bundled with the OS.
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That demo looks cooked.
It looks so good because it isn't actually developed by Microsoft. It is from the famous sim developer Peter Molyneux. He's been working on this stuff for decades.
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Peter Molyneux is known for empty promises because he makes features up as he talks about them. When he tells you about this great new feature in the game chance is that's the first time the development team hears of it.
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I shudder at the abuse we'll see attempted and if this thing learns from it's interactions. Ick.
It puts the lotion on it's skin...
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I remember chatting a few years ago with jabberwacky [jabberwacky.com] (which basically is "just" what people have been feeding into it for decades) and being unsettled by how cruel and outright evil it seemed... then I realized, oh, this is how (some) people treat a bot: cruel and condescending.
I see absolutely no point in this... we need to interact with people, not establish a feedback loop and surround our selves with virtual bullshit...
It has started. (Score:2)
Watch the video. Clare asks him if he's finished his homework and he hangs his head.
Then he talks about wanting to write in his journal.
I'm thinking of a contest. What can you turn him into? Does he cut himself? Does he start fires? How about racist, given that he can recognize faces on a web cam.
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I'm thinking of a contest. What can you turn him into? Does he cut himself? Does he start fires? How about racist, given that he can recognize faces on a web cam.
Dunno about what you said, but every time Bill Gates showed up in front of the camera, Milo would run and cry. Must be some bug.
If I had the game, first thing that pops to mind, is shooting a "Milo switches to Mac" ad.
Also, given Milo can apparently do homework, I'll just teach him C++ and let him work for me under threat of cutting the power off.
Staged demos aside, though.
I wonder how easy it'd be to interact with that thing in real life. If I asked him "How was your day" and all it can say back (in a dist
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Honestly, I don't know whether this is the Uncanny Valley manifesting, but that kid just creeps me out.
That's not the Uncanny Valley causing it. It's your basic animal fear that your own species has just been made obsolete by some basic gaming software.
But I might be wrong. You can test it. Get the DVD of Pixar's "The Incredibles" and play some. Do you feel the impending doom, or you're entertained? If the former, it's the Uncanny Valley (also check that with your doctor).
As for the fear-inducing-AI in the demo: it's fake, so you'll be able to sleep well tonight.
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It's your basic animal fear that your own species has just been made obsolete by some basic gaming software.
Do you even listen to yourself?
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He drifts in and out.
I want to blow his head off with a BFG 9000. (Score:4, Insightful)
He's a video game character. I don't want him to be real. Him being real would miss the point entirely.
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Exactly. There's no room for realistic video game characters. Only cartoon-like action warriors shouting one-liners as they mow down Nazis please!
Godwin (Score:2)
There's no room for realistic video game characters. Only cartoon-like action warriors shouting one-liners as they mow down Nazis please!
Keep it down or Milo might report you for a Godwin's law violation.
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Godwin's law doesn't state that Nazis can't be brought up, it just states that they will be brought up eventually. Without any judgement on that, either, the whole "if you bring up the Nazis you lost the argument" bullshit is made up and can be cured with a simple use of google, instead of just reurgitating it ad nauseum.... from wikipedia.
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Godwin's law doesn't state that Nazis can't be brought up
But Milo doesn't know that.
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Contrary to your desires, the nazis were very real.
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So are warriros and one-liners, but the gestalt isn't.
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Did the Sims miss the point entirely? I would think the popularity of a game built on sentient somewhat realistic characters would prove otherwise. All he is, is a 3D chat bot that reacts to you physically instead of what you type. I'd hardly call it a video game, personally.
What could possibly go wrong... (Score:3, Interesting)
(Incidentally, I bloody well hope that Lionhead has had some time to learn a thing or two since Black & White. The "AI" in that game managed to suck every ounce of joy out of being a malevolent deity, something that I wouldn't have believed possible.)
Re:What could possibly go wrong... (Score:5, Funny)
What are you talking about. The AI was awesome. Once I started rewarding my ape for Lighting its shit on fire, and also rewarding it for throwing its shit at villagers, it put 1+1 together and innovated unholy projectile flame turds.
I only wish my horse on red read redemption would come up with that instead of "jumping of cliffs and dying" :(
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No matter how many times I tried to teach my creature how to inspire belief through classic "good cop/bad cop" techniques, he never learned how to set the villages children on fire, throw their burning bodies at the village, setting it on fire, and then put out the fire with magical rain.(since the villager AI model rewarded you with more belief for giving them things that they needed, you could get more belief per unit manna by hurting them, and then magically repairing some of the dam
Dreamcast (Score:2)
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I think that seaman will stick with you
No, that'd only happen in Soviet Russia. And the only popular video game that I can think of that came out of that regime was Tetris.
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I think that seaman will stick to you.
FTFY
Wait, I've seen this before... (Score:5, Funny)
Microsoft Bob lives!
And takes up the awesome responsibility of being the latest hyped MS product to utterly fail. Sheesh.
you don't understand .... (Score:2)
oh boy (Score:5, Funny)
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Uhhh... old news. (Score:3, Informative)
Might the news be a hint of release? (Score:2)
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Yep, VERY OLD. Video dates from october 2009..
Cheese whiz (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Cheese whiz (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Cheese whiz (Score:5, Informative)
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Not only is it cheesy (and INCREDIBLY old news), the video in TFA is a fake. Proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFAK8ubYtZE [youtube.com]
I love the detective work on detecting the subtle visual clues that it's fake.
I guess Microsoft (or anyone in the world at all) having casually developed this AI, speech recognition and a virtually flawless speech synth, solely for the purpose of making a casual role-playing console game, doesn't seem suspicious to anyone.
Re:Cheese whiz (Score:4, Funny)
They were trying to make a virtual girlfriend for Ballmer.
Please, don't ask why it's a little boy.
That's it. All the truth.
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It's a "proof of concept" for the patent office. You don't have to have a working prototype to demonstrate that you have a vision. If Molyneux is really on board, this is almost certainly vaporware.
I wonder if this can be installed in a "Big Ass Table [youtube.com]?"
--
Toro
(*eye roll*)
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I guess the key phrase for me here is "built using artificial intelligence developed by Lionhead studios." Frankly, after seeing the shift that Lionhead produced with Black & White, compared to all the hype of what the game was supposed to be, ie major breakthrough in AI, I've just come to dismiss anything coming from Lionhead as just a bunch of marketing BS.
Thanks for the link to the video, it's quick and points out obvious flaws. I suppose at least this time Microsoft wasn't under oath when they pr
Wizard (Score:2)
Some of it was seriously cheesy, but some of it was amazing ideas (most revolve around extra interactivity possible with a virtual world when you add a camera to the mix). Amazing ideas from Microsoft?! Some other company than Microsoft is likely going to really make something really interesting with this stuff.
Bucket 2.0? (Score:2)
Goodness, don't let 4chan loose on this one. We'll have another Bucket.
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Goodness, don't let 4chan loose on this one. We'll have another Bucket.
Oh wait, I has a bucket [ihasabucket.com].
If you're curious about the Bucket that The Archon V2.0 was referring to, it's a chatbot [encycloped...matica.com] that spouts nothing but 4chan memes after talking to almost nobody but 4chan users. But as I understand it, if you teach your copy of Milo all 4chan's memes, someone else's copy of Milo won't necessarily learn them.
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But as I understand it, if you teach your copy of Milo all 4chan's memes, someone else's copy of Milo won't necessarily learn them.
Ah, that's good. Last thing we need is a crowdsourced AI.
The applications are limitless! (Score:2)
.
B&W 3 (Score:2)
Oh, I get it.. Black & White 3. I can't wait for Milo to hold his bowel movements the way a toddler holds its breath.
So what's new? (Score:2)
I saw this video in 2009 when it first came out... the Article didn't seem to really have any new information.
What am I missing?
Doing EVERYTHING but (Score:2, Insightful)
but... (Score:2, Informative)
...the video is very old and faked.
watch the way that milo looks directly at the girl around the 40 second point. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8aUhsrM0sA [youtube.com] explains things.
Peter Molyneux has ceased to be taken seriously by most people when it comes to his rather crappy games - perhaps he has realized he has nothing to lose and has decided its time to engage in outright deception.
Things I would like to do with Milo (Score:5, Funny)
1) Walk around naked in Milo's presence. How would he react? Is Milo into women or men?
2) Drink beer in the presence of Milo. Would Milo care for some and if yes, can Milo become drunk?
3) Mess with Milo's logic.
4) Scare Milo by saying that it was created by Microsoft and therefore is evil.
5) Teach Milo to fart.
6) Tell Milo he is a pirated version.
7) Convert Milo to a religion.
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Tell Milo he is a pirated version
Harsh.
Re:Things I would like to do with Milo (Score:5, Funny)
It'd be hilarious if the copy protection caused Milo to scream "You're not my daddy/mommy!" every time you try talking to him.
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"Don't touch me anymore! Not there! PLEASE! Let me go!"
Give the neighbours something to think about :).
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This leaves out the obvious question, "Will all Natal owners in Australia automatically be brought up on child molestation charges?"
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8) Paint Milo's face Blue when he is bad.
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2) Why do you say drink beer in Milo's presence? Can you elaborate on that?
3) Does mess with Milo's logic bother you?
4) Why do you feel Microsoft is evil? Can you elaborate on that?
5) You are being a bit negative.
6) Can you elaborate on a pirated version?
7) You are being a bit negative.
It will be a contest to see who drives whom crazy first.
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"I see that you are playing paddle ball. Can I play with you?"
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Must... Not... Click... Submit...
I saw the video demo of that last year (Score:5, Funny)
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so they can pass the Turing Test? (Score:2)
and they're using it to make this "game"?
Undisclosed Technology == Babbage! (Score:5, Funny)
What if... (Score:2)
Each Milo character will be unique because every player's interaction with the virtual character will sculpt the type of virtual person Milo will evolve to become."
So what happens if some one Charlie Manson-esque get one of these? Does it report to MS that you're totally bat-shit crazy? If so, does MS have an obligation to report this? Just wondering...
Important Questions (Score:5, Insightful)
If I turn off Milo, does he die?
What if I turn him off and then never play with him again?
What if I delete him?
Is it unethical to mass produce thousands of Milos that will live short (often abused) lives before they are forgotten or deleted?
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Is that really any different from regular humans?
Undisclosed technology?? (Score:2)
It was built using artificial intelligence developed by Lionhead studios, along with undisclosed technology from Microsoft.
Artificial intelligence and undisclosed technology coming together? There's something very familiar, and unsettling, about this...
BRYANT
Mr. Dyson? The material teams wants to run another test on the uh... on it.
DYSON
Yup. Come on. I'll get it.
Dyson produces an unusual-looking KEY from his pocket as they stride through the lab. Bryant has to hustle to keep up.
BRYANT
Listen, Mr. Dyson,
Way older than that (Score:2)
Everyone keeps mentioning examples of how this is old news that aren't more than 10 or 15 years old. Try 25 years old [wikipedia.org].
Moleyneux only delivers on a fifth of his claims (Score:3, Insightful)
He talks a big talk, but either he misjudges his creation or the technology just isn't there to realize every dream he's had.
Cortana (Score:2)
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Yeah, he's a schmuck and all of his games are, at heart, reworkings of the tedium that was Populous. Every know and then people make great claims for the realism, or open endedness of their games, but the only games which are like this are multiplayer games, where other humans genuinely act differently/unpredictably - either that or they're just better than you so it's up to the engine to find servers where people are about as good as you (as quakelive, for instance, does).
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Only if you define "acting differently" as "reading game guides to find the cheapest tactic available, then spamming that over and over again till the next patch, then whining that it was nerfed". That's not exactly what I'd call unpredictable, but YMMV.
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I tried to do that but then she slapped me. I must now stay at least 15 metres away from her at all times.
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Black & White did have some nice technology: the graphics. I loved the way you could zoom smoothly all the way from basically the outer atmosphere right down to the point where you were watching individual people doing stuff -- even on a relatively modest graphics card. That was a very good engine for the time.
Shame the supposedly revolutionary AI training turned out to be an exercise in frustration, and the rest of the gameplay was nothing but tedious micromanagement. Unless you wanted to be evil ..
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I didn't get far enough into B&W to really see anything interesting. I just remember struggling with the "innovative" and "intuitive" control system and thinking it was actually just "fiddly" and "incredibly frustrating". I remember trying to get a peon to go up a mountain to do... something or other at the beginning of the game, and failing for some arbitrary reason and being forced to do the whole thing again right from the beginning. As usual, big promises with some serious flaws in implementation. I
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Well, it could be worse - he could be Will Wright [penny-arcade.com] :)
Digimon still exists (Score:2)
A few years ago there were these 'gigapet' things that were all the hype, I had about 2, they were fantastic 'pets'. Then they suddenly went out of style.
Tiger's Giga Pets were a me-too of Bandai's Tamagotchi. Digimon began [wikipedia.org] as Bandai's attempt to extend Tamagotchi into the boy's market; it exists today as the dueling TV and game franchise [tvtropes.org] of Nintendo's Pokemon.
With today's technology I bet you could have a fantastic new 'gigapet' that would be every bit as realistic as a real duck/cat/dog/animal X.
Did Nintendogs come close?
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Kinectimals [xbox.com]
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Dude, that's not cool. I was drinking a huge glass of iced tea.
You owe me a new keyboard.
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so instead of studying actual humans, we try to make something just as complex as them, that behaves identically, and then study that? even if it WAS possible, it seems like a gigantic waste of time to me. also: to make something that behaves like humans we'd have to understand ourselves/each other first....