As the AI hype cycle intensifies, companies are promising that their agent AI will, at least eventually, do everything from shopping for groceries to booking travel plans.
What do you do with your extra free time? Why not relax and play video games? Or will we introduce yet another AI to play the game while we passively watch like the slack-jawed humans in “Wall-E”?
It may sound like a parody, but Japanese tech giant Sony is trying to do just that. It allows AI to operate PlayStation games on behalf of human players. According to a patent that was filed and revealed in September 2024, video game chroniclethe company has plans for a “ghost player” that will take over the player's character and puppeteer the solution if the player gets stuck.
According to the patent, gamers will choose between a “Guide Mode,” where the AI suggests a suitable path forward, or a “Complete Mode,” where the AI simply takes control of the player's character and plays everything for them.
This is a sobering example of how companies are using AI to essentially eliminate human agency in the name of making our lives easier. Gamers have been turning to walkthroughs and tips for years, usually after they've banged their heads against difficult challenges themselves and learned something in the process.
Technically, accessibility options in video games aren't new. Many modern titles allow gamers to adjust difficulty on the fly or even skip certain sections if they're too difficult. Sony's PlayStation 5 console also has a game help system that provides players with easily accessible guides and tips while gaming.
Adding AI to that paradigm is clearly interesting for the gaming industry. Last year, Microsoft already introduced an “AI-driven sidekick” for Xbox called Copilot for Gaming that can coach gamers to improve their skills. However, large-scale language model-based features are limited to voice and text prompts.
On a broader scale, the use of AI in the video game industry has proven to be incredibly controversial. Many gamers are disgusted by game studios that use AI for creative tasks, such as devising promotional artwork or generating voices for characters.
Despite this, company leaders like Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney have vowed to use AI in “almost all future productions.”
It remains to be seen whether companies will go so far as to deploy AI agents to play video games on your behalf, but considering Sony's patent, it's certainly something that companies are already considering.
Gamers aren't necessarily optimistic about AI encroaching on their experiences. Especially since there is deep confusion about how developers and studios are looking to leverage the technology. in works for gamerJournalist Mike Drucker predicted that 2026 will be “the year that AI in games becomes a huge nuisance.”
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