There's a livestream currently running that allows viewers to watch an AI learn how to Super Mario Bros., and it's pretty interesting stuff.

While, admittedly, the bulk of the footage consists of a program continually making the same silly errors any human player would know to avoid, it does eventually get to hang of each level and proceeds to blast through it with the skill of a professional speedrunner. Since embedding is disabled for the video, those who want to watch the program play classic Super Mario Bros. levels can head over to YouTube.

The livestream was started by Youtuber Einfach nerdig, but the AI program he uses, MarI/O, is the brainchild of SethBling, a world-record holder for Super Mario World speedruns. He started off training the program using footage of his own gameplay.

SethBling created a video for the program that breaks down how it functions, where he says his neural network begins with no prior knowledge of how the game actually works. Through a lot of trial and error, it eventually figures how to do simple tasks, such as moving right. Once enough time passes, the AI will eventually learn enough to complete a level. For those interested in a more in depth look at MarI/O, check out SethBling's informative video below.

As for other news in the Super Mario world, there's new hack that allows gamers to play Super Mario 64 in first person with dizzying results. It's a novel idea, playing the game through the eyes of Mario, but for a platformer that requires such precise control, this new perspective makes things much more challenging and often very confusing. Those without a predisposition for motion sickness should check it out for a lark, but don't expect to progress very far; just forget about collecting all 120 stars.

Anyone looking for a real challenge can test themselves by beating Super Mario Odyssey without jumping. It's technically possible, thanks to some research done by Gamechamp3000, who analyzed the way the game registers jumps and found a method for this madness. While the entire concept of not jumping sounds insane for a Super Mario game, there are certainly gamers out there who thrive on challenges like this one.

Source: The Next Web