Eve Online player corp names ChatGPT its new leader
It's common for CCP Games' massively multiplayer online space simulation Eva Online to make headlines based on the stunning strategies employed by its dedicated community, but would AI be able to keep up with the deeply human wars of subterfuge and espionage that often result in the game's most compelling moments? One group of players hopes to find the answer.
Neural Nexus is a Eva Online corporation — a player-run organization analogous to a World of Warcraft guild – founded for the purpose of using known technology, at least popularly, as artificial intelligence. By leaving decisions up to the GPT-4 based chatbotthe group hopes to reduce “dependency on a single human leader” and “the potential for conflict or disagreement over the direction of the company,” two major obstacles the founders see to the longevity of companies.
“United by our commitment to shared fun, mutual collaboration and strategic growth,” the Neural Nexus mission statement explains: “we aim to use our capabilities to enhance our collective experience, extract knowledge from it and contribute to the rich tapestry of New Eden. With our AI, we seek to combine the ingenuity of human creativity with the power of the advanced machine mind in our quest to build the first AI empire.”
Image: CCP games
But how does it work? According to the Neural Nexus Chartera company council meets once a month to consult with a ChatGPT Discord bot in the know Eva Online's mechanisms on issues that could have a “significant impact” on the business. A past example told Jackey Fang, co-founder of Neural Nexus and council member to Polygon, when they asked, “Please give me a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound goal for tomorrow,” to which the bot responded, “By the end of tomorrow I participate in at least three fleet operations.”
The directors then communicate the bot's guidelines to the rest of the company and oversee daily activities within that framework. AI interactions are recorded so that all company members can view a full log of past conversations to ensure dictations remain transparent.
The Neural Nexus board also uses ChatGPT to screen job applications, even going so far as to allow the bot to decide the parameters by which it will measure potential recruits. Four questions were decided on, ranging from how long hopeful players have been playing Eva Online on their personal feelings about joining an AI-driven company. The council ultimately added three questions of their own due to the frequency with which they came up, such as what time zone the player lives in.
“We then have an onboarding phase of approximately two weeks where we observe how candidates integrate into our business operations,” said Celestis Aeon, CEO of Neural Nexus. “After this trial period, we consult the AI again and provide it with this additional information and individual impressions of the recruiter. On this basis, it is then decided whether to make them 'full members' or to terminate their trial membership. This happens in a dialogue so that we can also extend trial memberships for players who did not have much time for it Eve and had less opportunity to communicate with us.
Less consequential functions left to AI include generating the Neural Nexus logo, naming ships, and coming up with a welcome message for the company.
Neural Nexus leadership also encourages players to consult AI for their daily activities and share their experiences as a collaborative role-playing and knowledge-building exercise intended to attract additional recruits, but it is by no means required to give full control to the chatbot not even for the company as a whole.
“While the AI is a powerful tool, members should remember that it is not infallible,” Neural Nexus AI Interaction Guidelines read. “Members should use their judgment when following the AI's advice and take into account the context of the game and the specific situation.”
Since its debut in June, Neural Nexus continues to provide regular progress reports the Eva Online forums And its official website. The company has since recruited nearly two dozen members and established its presence in several regions. The members even commit murders of fellow players, although this is likely more a product of individual skills than AI influence.
AI has been a hot topic lately. It's a disturbing prospect, not only because of AI's potential to push real people out of the creative process altogether (while simultaneously stealing existing artwork and writing on a massive scale), but also because so much of what AI produces is absolute nonsense. In the case of Neural Nexus, however, I can't help but see it as a fun experiment in a game already known for the groundbreaking thought processes of its player base – and CCP Games developers feel the same way.
“We are keeping an eye on Neural Nexus, but not because we fear it will go rogue or violate any policies,” a CCP Games spokesperson told Polygon. “We're especially interested to see how it performs against the sharpest and brightest minds gaming has to offer in New Eden. So far, no one has tried to run an entire company with AI. Will it try to start a war? Will it strive to optimize trade routes and surpass the many tools players have created? These are the questions we want to know!”
Godspeed, Neural Nexus, and may your AI tactician serve you well. I just hope you won't mind if I advocate for humanity instead.