Gusts Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Envisioned Land already has one surprising collaboration coming at launch with Tales of Graces f Remastered. However, another unlikely Bandai Namco title has joined the fray Tekken 8. Its arriving later, but a new teaser is available, recreating the franchises infamous volcano-dropping scene check it out below.The collaboration introduces costumes, special skills and accessories based on the fighting game to Atelier Yumia. With Reina teased in Benitamas illustration, protagonist Yumia may don the formers outfit. Time will tell, though, so stay tuned for more details. Perhaps even another Bandai Namco franchise collab?Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Enlightened Land is out now on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Check out our review we gave it a seven out of ten for its characters, world design, and combat (though it can get repetitive at times). A free demo is also available, with progress transferring to the game.

Aside from cutscenes, most of Mythic Quest takes place in the real world. But Apples upcoming spinoff series Side Quest will give us a much better look at what the game looks like from within.While some of Side Quests four episodes focus on peoples lives outside of and away from Mythic Quest, the final episode, titled The Last Raid, takes place within the fictional MMORPG and follows high schoolers Devon (Van Crosby), Kelly (Melanie Brook), Rory (Alice Wen), Seth (David Andrew Calvillo), and Freddie (Justin Jarzombek) setting out to fight powerful bosses. In this exclusive clip from the episode, the kids have been playing Mythic Quest for years and made an annual tradition of taking on big raids to commemorate becoming friends in the game.The Last Raid makes Mythic Quest (the game) look a bit like a dated World of Warcraft clone compared to cutscenes from Mythic Quests (the series) more recent seasons. But the episode, and the rest of Side Quest, may offer a better sense of what keeps players returning to Mythic Quest.The entire season hits Apple TV Plus on March 26th.

Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr said companies looking for regulatory approval should get busy ending any sort of their invidious forms of DEI discrimination, according to an interview with Bloomberg. Carr reportedly brought up Paramounts merger with Skydance, Verizons purchase of Frontier Communications, and T-Mobiles plans to acquire most of US Cellular as potential deals that could be affected.Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI, has become a target of President Donald Trumps administration, with various federal agencies ending diversity programs and pressuring major companies to do the same.We can only under the statute move forward and approve a transaction if we find that doing so serves the public interest, Carr told Bloomberg. If theres businesses out there that are still promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination, I really dont see a path forward where the FCC could reach the conclusion that approving the transaction is going to be in the public interest.In February, Carr announced an investigation into the DEI-related initiatives at Comcast. He later sent a letter to Verizon to express concerns over its apparent lack of progress in ending DEI efforts, and asked the companys executives to contact the FCC officials overseeing its acquisition of Frontier, as reported by Bloomberg.Along with taking action against companies with DEI policies, Carr announced a sweeping investigation into the US operations of China-based companies previously placed on the FCCs Covered List, such as Huawei, ZTE, and China Telecom. The FCC will look into each companys current levels of operations in the US, as Carr says the FCC has reason to believe some or all of these Covered List entities are trying to make an end run around those FCC prohibitions by continuing to do business in America on a private or unregulated basis.Disclosure: Comcast is also an investor in Vox Media, The Verges parent company.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to the development of complex models capable of understanding and generating human-like text. Deploying these large language models (LLMs) in real-world applications presents significant challenges, particularly in optimizing performance and managing computational resources efficiently.Challenges in Scaling AI Reasoning ModelsAs AI models grow in complexity, their deployment demands increase, especially during the inference phasethe stage where models generate outputs based on new data. Key challenges include:Resource Allocation: Balancing computational loads across extensive GPU clusters to prevent bottlenecks and underutilization is complex.Latency Reduction: Ensuring rapid response times is critical for user satisfaction, necessitating low-latency inference processes.Cost Management: The substantial computational requirements of LLMs can lead to escalating operational costs, making cost-effective solutions essential.Introducing NVIDIA DynamoIn response to these challenges, NVIDIA has introduced Dynamo, an open-source inference library designed to accelerate and scale AI reasoning models efficiently and cost-effectively. As the successor to the NVIDIA Triton Inference Server, Dynamo offers a modular framework tailored for distributed environments, enabling seamless scaling of inference workloads across large GPU fleets. Technical Innovations and BenefitsDynamo incorporates several key innovations that collectively enhance inference performance:Disaggregated Serving: This approach separates the context (prefill) and generation (decode) phases of LLM inference, allocating them to distinct GPUs. By allowing each phase to be optimized independently, disaggregated serving improves resource utilization and increases the number of inference requests served per GPU. GPU Resource Planner: Dynamos planning engine dynamically adjusts GPU allocation in response to fluctuating user demand, preventing over- or under-provisioning and ensuring optimal performance. Smart Router: This component efficiently directs incoming inference requests across large GPU fleets, minimizing costly recomputations by leveraging knowledge from prior requests, known as KV cache. Low-Latency Communication Library (NIXL): NIXL accelerates data transfer between GPUs and across diverse memory and storage types, reducing inference response times and simplifying data exchange complexities. KV Cache Manager: By offloading less frequently accessed inference data to more cost-effective memory and storage devices, Dynamo reduces overall inference costs without impacting user experience. Performance InsightsDynamos impact on inference performance is substantial. When serving the open-source DeepSeek-R1 671B reasoning model on NVIDIA GB200 NVL72, Dynamo increased throughputmeasured in tokens per second per GPUby up to 30 times. Additionally, serving the Llama 70B model on NVIDIA Hopper resulted in more than a twofold increase in throughput. These enhancements enable AI service providers to serve more inference requests per GPU, accelerate response times, and reduce operational costs, thereby maximizing returns on their accelerated compute investments. ConclusionNVIDIA Dynamo represents a significant advancement in the deployment of AI reasoning models, addressing critical challenges in scaling, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Its open-source nature and compatibility with major AI inference backends, including PyTorch, SGLang, NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM, and vLLM, empower enterprises, startups, and researchers to optimize AI model serving across disaggregated inference environments. By leveraging Dynamos innovative features, organizations can enhance their AI capabilities, delivering faster and more efficient AI services to meet the growing demands of modern applications.Check outthe Technical details and GitHub Page.All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,feel free to follow us onTwitterand dont forget to join our80k+ ML SubReddit. Asif RazzaqWebsite| + postsBioAsif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences.Asif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Semantic Search Engine with Sentence Transformers, FAISS, and all-MiniLM-L6-v2Asif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/NVIDIA AI Just Open Sourced Canary 1B and 180M Flash Multilingual Speech Recognition and Translation ModelsAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/Microsoft AI Introduces Claimify: A Novel LLM-based Claim-Extraction Method that Outperforms Prior Solutions to Produce More Accurate, Comprehensive, and Substantiated Claims from LLM OutputsAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/A Coding Implementation to Build a Document Search Agent (DocSearchAgent) with Hugging Face, ChromaDB, and Langchain

Lenovo has dropped the price of its powerful Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 RTX 4080 Super gaming PC to only $2,301.35 after coupon code: "EXTRAFIVE". In our recent Legion Tower 7 review (the sample we received wasn't as powerful as this one), Jacqueline Thomas wrote that "The Legion Tower 7i is an incredibly powerful gaming PC, especially for the money youre likely going to be paying for it. If all you want is a powerful, upgradeable machine without having to go through the trouble of building it yourself, its hard to find many gaming PCs better than this one."Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 RTX 4080 Super Gaming PCLenovo Legion Tower 7i Intel Core i9-14900KF RTX 4080 Super Gaming PC with 32GB RAM, 2TB SSDThe Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 is equipped with an Intel Core i9-14900KF CPU, GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER GPU, 32GB of DDR5-4000MHz RAM, and a 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD. The unlocked 14th gen Intel Core i9-14900KF Raptor Lake "Refresh" CPU boasts a max Turbo clock of 6GHz with 24 cores, 32 threads, and a 36MB cache. It's still one of the most powerful Intel CPUs available (in many cases it even beats out the new Intel Core Ultra 9 285K). The processor is cooled by a 360mm all-in-one liquid cooling system that rivals many enthusiast setups.The RTX 4080 Super is Nvidia's second most powerful RTX 40 series card. You'll be able to handle any game in 4K at high frame rates, even with ray tracing enabled. It's 5-10% faster in performance than the RTX 4080 thanks to its higher base clock speed, higher CUDA core count, and higher memory bandwidth. It trades blows with AMD's most powerful GPU, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, but the RTX 4080 Super pulls ahead in ray tracing performance and where DLSS 3.0 is supported.Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super Review by Jacqueline Thomas"The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super, just like the original RTX 4080, is a 4K graphics card through and through. In every test, this GPU excels at that high resolution with plenty of room to spare, especially if you utilize Nvidia's DLSS. Even in games without DLSS or ray tracing, like Total War: Warhammer 3, the RTX 4080 Super is a monster at 4K, scoring 79fps, compared to 76 from the RTX 4080 and 86 from the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX."How does the RTX 4080 stack up against current cards?Although the GeForce RTX 4080 Super is a generation old, it's still one of the most powerful cards out there. It handily outperforms AMD's new RX 9070 and 9070 XT GPUs and Nvidia's RTX 5070. It's pretty much identical in performance to the RTX 5070 Ti and loses only about 10% to the RTX 5080.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

As any younger sibling who grew up on Mario platformers knows, Luigi is gaming's ultimate Player 2. Nintendo's green-capped member of the Mario Bros. has lived a lifetime in the shadow of his older twin Mario, only stepping out for a taste of solo stardom in his ghostbusting Luigi's Mansion series.As we move closer to Switch 2, were celebrating another console generation of Luigi and Player 2s everywhere with a complete list of every Luigi game on Switch.PlayHow Many Luigi Games Are on Switch?There are 17 games on Switch that let you play as Luigi. Hes the main character in only two games (Luigis Mansion 2 HD and Luigis Mansion 3) and the co-lead in one (Mario & Luigi: Brothership). Luigi's Mansion 3See it at AmazonLuigi's Mansion 2 HDSee it at AmazonMario & Luigi: BrothershipSee it at AmazonMario Kart 8 DeluxeSee it at AmazonMario + Rabbids Kingdom BattleSee it at AmazonMario Tennis AcesSee it at AmazonSuper Smash Bros. UltimateSee it at AmazonSuper Mario Maker 2See it at AmazonSuper Mario 3D World + Bowsers FurySee it at AmazonMario Golf: Super RushSee it at AmazonMario Strikers: Battle League FootballSee it at AmazonSuper Mario Bros. WonderSee it at AmazonSuper Mario Party JamboreeSee it at AmazonEvery Luigi Game on SwitchLuigis Mansion 3 (2019)Luigis first starring role on Switch was in Luigis Mansion 3, the third entry in the characters only solo series to date. Luigis Mansion 3 sees our timid hero and his green gooey clone team up with Professor E. Gadd to battle ghosts and save his friends from King Boos haunted hotel.Luigis Mansion 2 HD (2024)Luigis Mansion 2 HD is a remake of the 2013 Nintendo 3DS game Luigis Mansion: Dark Moon. This second game in the spooky series sees Luigi ghostbusting his way through the mansions of Evershade Valley to once again capture King Boo and save his brother.Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024) Sure, it's not exclusively a 'Luigi game,' but Mario & Luigi: Brothership certainly puts the brothers on even footing. Brothership is the first release in the Mario & Luigi series since Paper Jam in 2014. Players take on the role of both brothers, who must traverse puzzles and platforming challenges to restore the kingdom of Concordia. Every Other Game You Can Play as Luigi on Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017)The first Switch game to feature Luigi as a playable character was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Luigi appears as a middleweight racer with a well-balanced stat distribution that slightly favors speed and handling. His appearance in an ad for the original Wii U version of Mario Kart 8 spawned the Luigi Death Stare meme.Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017)Luigi next appeared in the Nintendo-Ubisoft collaboration Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. The tactical RPG features both Luigi and Rabbid Luigi, a Rabbid who dresses (and often behaves) like his human counterpart, as possible party members.Mario Tennis Aces (2018)Luigi hit the court as one of 16 playable launch characters in 2018s Mario Tennis Aces. As is often true for Luigi in Mario sports games, hes a balanced, all-around character in Aces. His specialty shot, Pipe Cannon, blasts him into the air to set him up for a powerful spike.Super Mario Party (2018)Luigi is one of 20 playable characters in Super Mario Party. The younger of the Mario Bros. has appeared alongside his brother in every Mario Party game to date, including the two others further down this list. This is the first Mario Party game released for Switch and Nintendos ninth best-selling game on the platform, according to the company.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)Luigi appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an unlockable character. He is one of 12 characters to be playable in all five Smash games. According to LumiRanks 2025 tier list, which compiled the opinions of 93 ranked Smash players, Luigi is an A+-tier fighter and the 18th best overall.New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (2019)Luigi is a playable character in the 2019 platformer New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. This is an expanded version of NSMBU for Wii U that includes the expansion New Super Luigi U. Luigi stars as the main character in this expansion, which incorporates his higher jump, remixes levels from the base game, and adds a 100-second timer to each level.Super Mario Maker 2 (2019)Alongside Mario, Toad, and Toadette, Luigi is one of four playable characters in Super Mario Maker 2. The level-building platformer allows players to create their own Mario levels using assets from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros. U, and Super Mario 3D World.Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury (2021)Like the original Wii U release, Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury can be played entirely as Luigi. Here, he controls similarly to Mario, albeit with a slightly higher jump and slightly less traction, making him play a bit more floaty and slippery than his red-capped counterpart.Mario Golf: Super Rush (2021)Luigi hit the links with Mario and friends in Mario Golf: Super Rush. One of 22 playable characters, he boasts decent control and excellent speed stats, making him a great option for Super Rushs new Speed Golf mode. His special shot, Ice Flower Freeze, freezes the ground upon the balls impact, creating a hazardous area for opponents.Mario Party Superstars (2021)Luigi returns for the second iteration of Mario Party on Switch: Mario Party Superstars. Unlike Super Mario Party before it, Superstars is not an original game but rather a modern collection of minigames, boards, and mechanics from the series past.Mario Strikers: Battle League Football (2022)Mario Strikers: Battle League Football, the latest Mario soccer/football game, features Luigi as one of 16 playable characters. Luigi is a well-balanced footballer who excels in technique, a skill that determines a characters ability to dribble, curve their shot, and shoot accurately. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (2022)Luigi (and Rabbid Luigi) returned for Ubisoft and Nintendos tactical sequel, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Luigi is labeled a Sneak Attacker due to his ranged weaponry and low health.Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the latest 2D Mario platformer, features Luigi as a playable alternative to Mario. The difference between the two characters here is purely aesthetic, as the Mario Bros. play identically to one another.Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024)Unsurprisingly, Luigi is playable in Super Mario Party Jamboree, the biggest and arguably best game in Nintendos flagship party series. In addition to being a playable character, Luigi appears as part of Jamborees new Buddy mechanic, where he has the chance to change a players dice rolls from their initial numbers to 10s.What's Next for Luigi? PlayThe next time you'll be able to play as Luigi is a new Mario Kart game, expected to release alongside the Switch 2, that features double the usual amount of racers. Yes, that means 24 racers on each track. Otherwise, I'm sure Mario will bring Luigi along for whatever his next adventure is. Plenty more games are rumored to be releasing with Nintendo's next console generation, and the next updates will likely come out of a Nintendo Direct scheduled for April 2. Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.

I didnt have riding a fixed-gear bike possessed by an entity named Skully on my list of games to play this year, but thats part of the fun of attending events like the ID@Xbox Showcase at GDC you never know what new game is going to catch your eye. Wheel World, with its mix of open-world exploration, loot scouring, and surprisingly fun and competitive racing has put this radical take on bike racing on my radar as it speeds its way to Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC with Xbox Play Anywhere support for release later this year.In Wheel World you play Kat, a bike rider fated to save this unique realm thats full of rival riders, spare parts, and portal potties outhouses that work as a fast-travel option. That hits on another aspect I enjoyed about my time with the game: its humor. It never seems to take itself too seriously, as one should expect when it features a bike possessed by an entity in charge of marshaling spirits to and from the Moon. Helping Skully gather these spirits is your central goal during your time in Wheel World, but to do that you need to assemble the best ride possible.Traversing the realm of Wheel World and looking for loot (spare parts) is a big part of the fun, as you can uncover these items that contain a variety of pieces to customize your bike everything from its frame, to wheels, to handlebars, and more are all swappable which affect stats like speed and handling. These parts can also come in Legendary status and can give unique powers like increasing your boost meter to help during races.Another rule of this world is Reputation, needed to unlock higher-leveled zones, which you can gain by facing down other riders you encounter on the road, or when you take down a rival bike gang by you guessed it racing. Which is great, because it feels so fun to ride throughout Wheel World.All the competitions I tried out, whether they were up against a single rider or a pack, were very fun and lightly challenging with a nice pumping soundtrack running in the background (courtesy of Italians Do It Better). As I would glide through a pack of rivals, I found that both drafting (thats moving behind the rider to reduce wind resistance), and utilizing boost at the opportune times, were keys to success. Winning races can also net you coupons that you can use at bike shops found within the world, giving you access to even more spare parts for your bike.The physics for the handling of the bike also felt very natural, as you would have to factor in things like speed around turns, heavy peddling up hills, or just gliding downhill, it all felt very refined which is great because the game relies so much on this aspect. In addition, its cell-shaded world itself is beautiful to ride through, reminiscent of games like Sable or Dungeons of Hinterberg.Independent developer Messhof describes Wheel World as about the joy and freedom of living around bikes and that feels like the case here. From racing, to tinkering, to exploring or even just going out for a cruise through the hills, it captures that spirit of riding a bike and the freedom of exploration that comes with it. Look for Wheel World to come to Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, with support for Xbox Play Anywhere, later this year.Wheel WorldAnnapurna InteractiveGet it nowWelcome to Wheel World, where the fate of the universe rests on your handlebars.You are Kat, a young cyclist with one mission: save Wheel World from total collapse. Explore a stunning open world filled with impressive vistas, hidden secrets, and races that will test your skills. Customize your bike with an endless array of parts, from sleek speedsters to off-road beaststhere's no limit to how you can ride.Wheel World is packed with things to do:Race and Dominate: Take on elite cycling teams and quirky rivals in high-stakes races where every second counts.Upgrade Your Ride: Scour the world for rare parts to build the ultimate bike, perfectly tailored to your style.Carry Out Your Destiny: Recover your stolen Legendary parts to ultimately perform The Great Shift ritual and save the world. No big deal.All of this is backed by an original soundtrack from Italians Do It Better, pumping energy into every race and moments of breathtaking semi-open world exploration.It's time to pedal your way to glory, save the spirits of Wheel World, and keep the universe on track. Hop on, ride fast, and don't look back.

Apples last big software release, iOS 18.3, arrived in late January. So were very much due for another noteworthy update. iOS 18.4 has been in beta testing for some time now, and were getting close to the public launch. Heres when Apple has said to expect the iOS 18.4 release date.iOS 18.4 coming in early April per AppleIts unusual for Apple to share timelines for software release dates far in advance, but iOS 18.4 is one of the rare exceptions.All the way back in October, when the first Apple Intelligence features launched, the company mentioned that an April software update would bring additional AI languages.Based on previous years software patterns and Mark Gurmans reporting, it became clear that iOS 18.4 would be that April software update.But now, Apple has gotten even more specific.Based on updates made to its website, Apple has now pinpointed early April as the exact timing for iOS 18.4s launch.Heres copy from the official iOS 18 page:Apple Intelligence is available in betaAdditional features andlanguage support available in early AprilThe early qualifier still offers Apple some flexibility, but I would assume this means iOS 18.4 will launch before mid-month. The week of April 7 seems most likely, but Apple could potentially target a Monday, April 14 launch and technically still consider that early April. In any case, iOS 18.4s release will be here pretty soon.New features coming in iOS 18.4Originally this update was expected to bring major Siri upgrades, but those have officially been delayed.However, iOS 18.4 still has a ton of new features coming. Here are the highlights, and you can visit the links for more info:Overall, while the Siri delays are disappointing, Apple still has a packed update coming in iOS 18.4. And after its April launch, it wont be long before Apple unveils its major iOS 19 redesign, too.Are you excited for iOS 18.4s release soon? Let us know in the comments.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is availableon iTunes and Apples Podcasts app,Stitcher,TuneIn,Google Play, or through ourdedicated RSS feedfor Overcast and other podcast players.Sponsored by CardPointers: The best way to maximize your credit card rewards. 9to5Mac Daily listeners can exclusively save 30% and get a $100 Savings Card.New episodes of 9to5Mac Daily are recorded every weekday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as theyre available.Stories discussed in this episode:Listen & Subscribe:Subscribe to support Chance directly with 9to5Mac Daily Plus and unlock:Ad-free versions of every episodeBonus contentCatch up on 9to5Mac Daily episodes!Dont miss out on our other daily podcasts:Share your thoughts!Drop us a line at happyhour@9to5mac.com. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

In case you haven't heard, Anthropic has been livestreaming its AI model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, attempting to complete a playthrough of Pokmon Red.The experiment, dubbed "Claude Plays Pokmon," is intended to be a demonstration of "AI agents," the industry's ongoing race to create AI models that are capable of operating autonomously by interacting with their environment.Claude has managed to get surprisingly far into the game, clinching three Gym badges and reaching, as of this week, Cerulean City. But it plods along at a painstakingly slow pace, stopping to "think" after every single move, sometimes for longer intervals than others. For nearly 80 agonizing hours, for instance, Claude bumbled cluelessly around Mt. Moon, before finally finding the ladder it needed to escape. Invested Twitch viewers breathed a sigh of relief.Progress isn't looking poised to speed up. The Anthropic AI's excursion through the Kanto region has mostly devolved into running around in circles, unsure of its next move. It needs to hop on Route 5 to reach the next stage, but where and how?A text window in the livestream of Claude's thought process shows that the AI is using a process of elimination to rule out which locations aren't the Route 5 entrance. But will it piece together that it needs to use the HM "Cut" on a few destructible trees to access the fabled path? It's not looking likely: it keeps repeating how it needs to find the "gatehouse" to the route instead.In short, Claude is stuck. One of the AI industry's leading models may well be stumped by a game that's been beaten by literal children for generations.According to engineers, a major challenge for Claude is visually processing what it sees in the game. Claude excels at interpreting the game's text-based portions, including the Pokmon battles. It also has access to the game's RAM to glean information like its in-game coordinates. But it can't consistently interpret the tiny number of pixels that make up its low-res environment."Claude's still not particularly good at understanding what's on the screen at all," David Hershey, the Anthropic engineer behind the Pokmon experiment, . "You will see it attempt to walk into walls all the time." Ironically, Hershey suggests, if Claude was playing a more visually realistic game, it might do better."It's pretty easy for me to understand that [an in-game] building is a building and that I can't walk through a building," Hershey added. "And that's [something] that's pretty challenging for Claude to understand."There are times, however, when Claude is surprisingly clever, like responding to in-game clues that are designed to be misleading."It's pretty funny that they tell you you need to go find Professor Oak next door and then he's not there," Hershey told Ars, describing one of the first missions in the game. "As a 5-year-old, that was very confusing to me. But Claude actually typically goes through that same set of motions where it talks to mom, goes to the lab, doesn't find [Oak], says, 'I need to figure something out.'""It's sophisticated enough to sort of go through the motions of the way [humans are] actually supposed to learn it, too," Hershey added.So maybe all is not lost yet. There's still plenty of time for Claude 3.7 Sonnet to turn things around. It's gotten significantly farther than its predecessor 3.0 Sonnet, which couldn't even make it out of Pallet Town, the game's starting area. Still, its struggles show that the technology still has a long way to go to be "agentic," let alone fulfill its promise of one day exceeding human capabilities.Share This Article