Ubisoft reveals AI-powered “Teammates” R&D project
Has Ubisoft revealed the future of gaming, or is it just another kind of AI slop?
Ubisoft has revealed “Teammates”, a new AI experiment that uses generative AI to power/control NPCs (non-player characters). This allows players to issue them complex voice commands and converse with them. This means that players can control a squad of AI companions with their voice, rather than command wheels, menus, or button prompts.
Ubisoft believes its AI NPCs can enhance gameplay. While the Teammates project is not available to play or download, Ubisoft has been testing it extensively to judge player reactions. What are the limits of AI and player interactions through speech? What possibilities does this AI enable? How will players exploit this AI?
Teammates is a short first-person shooter demo where players take on the role of a resistance fighter on a mission to locate five team members within an enemy base. The player is assisted by two AI companions, Pablo and Sofia, and an AI voice assistant called Jaspar.
The demo is a testbed to see how players will use their AI companions. Will players give the AI’s tactical orders? How will the AIs respond to complex commands? Will players use their AI assistant to remind them of objectives and prevent them from getting lost?
Ubisoft wants to prevent AI from giving players spoilers or acting inappropriately
If Ubisoft want to use AI in games, it needs to ensure that its AI NPCs cannot be abused. For Teammates, Ubisoft has an API with safety guardrails to control AI behaviours. Note that writers still define the game’s story, and “fences” are set so that improvised dialogue stays on message and doesn’t spoil the game for players. If this tech works as intended, hallucinated lines, lore-breaking dialogue, and inappropriate responses should be filtered out.
Regardless of Ubisoft’s efforts, players will find a way to break these systems. If there is one thing that I can guarantee, it is that if the system can be broken, players will break it. What will happen? Will these AI bots reveal story spoilers? Can they be forced to swear at players? Will they be forced to talk about politics or inappropriate topics? Can they be used to cheat other game systems? If it’s possible, it will be done.
You can join the discussion on Ubisoft’s Teammates AI experiment on the OC3D Forums.
