Watching One of the World's Most Advanced AIs Try to Beat Pokémon Red Is Strangely Fascinating

You can even watch its thought process. To prepare to take over the real world, AI models are first conquering virtual ones. On Tuesday, Anthropic kicked off its Twitch livestream titled "Claude Plays Pokémon." Without human intervention, the Google-backed startup's latest AI model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, explores the world of Pokémon Red, doing its best to beat Nintendo's classic RPG for the Game Boy, released in the halcyon days of 1998. And it's not doing too badly, either. So far, Claude 3.7 has managed to clinch three Gym Leader badges, most recently besting Lt. Surge at the Vermilion City Gym. That's considerably better than Claude 3.5, which had stalled at Pallet Town, the game's starting area. Endearingly, Claude 3.7 even gives nicknames to its roster of battling creatures, christening its choice of starter Pokémon, Squirtle, as "Shell." Last week, a researcher tried out an early preview of Claude 3.7 Sonnet. The results were striking. Within hours, Claude defeated Brock. Days ... Read full article.