We've covered efforts to use GTA V's virtual environment as a training ground for the AI programs intended to control self-driving cars in the past, but now one particular neural network attempting to brave the streets of Los Santos has achieved internet fame.
Like any proper AI, this one has a name: Charles. Affectionately called Charlie by fans and viewers, the AI is an artificial neural network, meaning that the structure is based on the human brain's function, netting it perks like the ability to learn. There usually is zero human input in the actions of Charles, sans a few occasions when the developer behind him, Harrison Kinsley, had to save his little project from a particularly menacing corner.
Let loose in a modded version of GTA V, Charles manifests as an invulnerable black Armored Kuruma powered by a Python script which analyses what is present on the screen frame by frame and uses that data to make decisions. There are various versions of Charles with some differences. The one running on the Twitch stream, for example, was incapable of learning and had no memory. The purpose there was to collect data to incorporate into the next version.
Just in case it's not totally obvious, why GTA V? At least for me, Grand Theft Auto 5 is a great environment to practice in for a variety of reasons. It's an open world with endless things you can do, but let's consider even just a simple one: Self-driving cars. With GTA V, we can use mods to control the time of day, weather, traffic, speeds, what happens when we crash...all kinds of things (mainly using mods, but this isn't absolutely required) — Kinsley
On YouTube, Charles' developer has posted a number of other videos explaining more about how our favorite runaway AI works. At the time of writing, Charles' Twitch stream isn't broadcasting, likely because Kinsley is updating the program with the new data as scheduled.
