US Army AI project based on poker software

Libratus, the AI bot that made the news in 2017 for cleaning out four professional poker players in a game of no-limit Texas Hold 'em, has been called up to work for The Pentagon. Tuomas Sandholm's new startup, called Strategy Robot, is using the same technology today for government use. It now has a $10 million contract with the US Army.

The AI technology is being re-designed for use in simulations and wargames which will help the US military with strategy and planning (Picture source: Cisin )

The AI is built on computational game theory, which combines elements of game theory and computer science. Its objective is to understand and design algorithms in strategic environments. When Libratus was playing against top poker players, it won more than $1.8 million in play money. The software was able to outwit the human players, learning to predict behavior and even bluff. The AI technology developed is being re-designed for use in simulations and wargames which will help the US military with strategy and planning.

In summer 2018, the Pentagon created the Joint Artificial Intelligence Centre (JAIC) to oversee roughly 600 different AI projects running at the cost of $1.7bn, and in the fall the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (Darpa) announced plans to invest a further $2bn into AI weapons research over the next five years.