Lewis Hamilton beaten by artificial intelligence on Gran Turismo

The challenge launched by Lewis Hamilton on the video game Gran Turismo Sport seemed quite rough, gamer's word. The seven-time world champion Formula 1 had achieved a series of times on increasingly difficult circuits on the PlayStation 4 game, culminating in a challenge on the Nürburgring Nordschleife aboard a Sauber Mercedes C9.

The time set by the Briton was 5'40″622 in a driving simulator. The gamer and pilot Formula 3 Igor Fraga broke this mark with a lap in 5'26"682, but this time has just been beaten by... artificial intelligence.

Sophy is a AI developed by Sony, in partnership with Sony Interactive and Polyphony Digital, the development studio in charge of the Gran Turismo saga. Michael Spranger, director of operations at Sony AI, describes Gran Turismo Sophy as "an AI agent who has taught himself to drive at a highly competitive level and is capable of competing against the best drivers in the world." »

Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi intends for Sophy to appear in Gran Turismo 7 in an upcoming update “as a teacher who will teach players how to drive, as a colleague who will teach players sportsmanship, and as a friend to run with”. Sony AI's Peter Wurman confirmed that “The team's ultimate goal is to create an agent that can provide players of all kinds with an exciting racing experience. »

On the northern loop of the Nürburgring, Sophy set the record (5'22"975) taking advantage of the entire track, and then some. On numerous occasions, the AI ​​has passed its wheels through the grass without the time being canceled by the game. As long as at least two wheels remain on the circuit, the game actually counts the lap.

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