The father of Gran Turismo explained what the new Olympic Esports Series will mean for the real sport, and explained the contribution of AI Sophy.
On the sidelines of the presentation of the second Olympic Esports Series, we had the opportunity to chat with Kazunori Yamauchi, legendary Japanese developer known for founding Polyphony Digital and creating Gran Turismo more than twenty-five years ago.
The brief discussion was mainly focused on the new IOC initiative, which aims to incorporate gaming into the Olympic ranks while not integrating it into the actual Olympics, but it was also an opportunity to talk about progress in the field of artificial intelligence, where Sony and the Japanese house are (literally) leading the innovation with GT Sophy.
AI (Artificial Intelligence, IA in Italian) have become a recurring theme on the net, whether it is virtual voice actors who try to steal the work of real-life performers, or ‘messaging systems’ like ChatGPT which could easily replace a good part of web journalists or supposed ones.
The AI Sophy on Gran Turismo —
Last year, Sony and Polyphony Digital announced GT Sophy, “the first superhuman AI agent that will beat the best racers in the world”. And it wasn’t just a declaration of intent: in the demonstration following the presentation, in which on Lago Maggiore she occupied four of the eight places on the grid, Sophy beat some of the best drivers on the planet – Tomoaki Yamanaka, champion of the 2021 TGR GT Cup; Takuma Miyazono, world champion at the 2020 Nations Cup; Ryota Kokubun, Asia/Oceania champion at the 2018 Nations Cup; and Shotaro Ryu, champion of the youth division at the 2019 Japan National Esports.
Even more impressive, he outdid the second-place finisher by 5.8 seconds and set the fastest lap around the circuit by more than two seconds, leaving even his creators dumbfounded. A year later, update 1.29 introduced a timed event called Race Together on Gran Turismo 7, in which it will be possible to challenge the AI Sophy (until the end of March) in four different races and on multiple challenge levels.
The interview with Kazunori Yamauchi —
Aiming precisely at this, Yamauchi – born in 1967, a man with an only apparently severe gaze with a very tender reaction when, showing off rudimentary knowledge of Japanese acquired during the pandemic, we call him “senpai” – underlines how it will not be just a matter of training the best but also to raise the bar for everyone.
How did this partnership with the CIO come about, and why do you think the choice on the motorsport side fell on the Gran Turismo franchise?
Kazunori Yamauchi: “First, I want to clarify that this relationship actually begins with the partnership between the CIO and the FIA. So, there is first the partnership between the CIO and the FIA, and then the one between the FIA and us which ultimately connected us with the CIO for this initiative. On top of that, the first Olympic Virtual Series was held two years ago, which was kind of an experimental pilot event that really kickstarted this kind of project. And it was something that was born in a very short space of time.
The project came quite suddenly for us, but I think it was the success of that event that led to the closest collaboration we have now. As you know, we have been holding esports events since 2018 and I think probably the quality of those events was what made us think we were the right partner for this new project.”
This event itself is a great achievement for gaming, but don’t you think it’s about time that video games have a real presence in the Olympics? If not, what is missing to get there?
“Starting from a broader framework, we have been thinking a lot over the last five years about what exactly a ‘sport’ is, and I think that’s something people in the CIO and FIA are always thinking about as well. As far as we’re concerned, looking at the last ten years, we did the GT Academy in 2008 and it was a project that allowed us to move from the virtual racing world to the real one. And in 2008, when we did this project, the virtual and real worlds were very different and separate. Since then, I think we’ve all been thinking about what sport is, and how sport can be innovated.
This time around, one aspect of the Olympic Esports Series that is different from what we had fifteen years ago is that the line between the virtual and the real has become much blurrier, with the sport becoming almost a continuous connection between these two. worlds. So it’s not a question of thinking about what’s missing – let’s talk about the future of sport. Future innovations that will affect sport and, right now, that’s where we are focusing all our attention”.
Many athletes train on video games ahead of their competitions. With AI Sophy having just been introduced in Gran Turismo 7, what do you think AI can bring to esports as well as sport proper, and what do you think the scenarios look like, in general, with the latest technological advances in the field of AI?
“When it comes to Gran Turismo, advances in AI mean that all drivers will be able to have a truly advanced coach at their disposal. I think the level of leadership in the game and in the community will go up a lot. Typically, players adjust settings and help limitations to try to overcome them. But with the AI becoming as fast as the top drivers in terms of skill and displaying the same level of sportsmanship as these drivers, the fact that regular Gran Turismo players can compete with this AI also means that their level will continually improve. .
Even now the best drivers can go online and drive against each other or together, but these advances in AI will allow the top drivers to compete with someone at the same level of driving skill. So I think these advancements will really help raise the bar for all players.”
01 March 2023 (change 01 March 2023 | 09:54)
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