---
title: "Researchers Are Using Minecraft to Test Artificial Intelligence"
description: "Project Malmo is now available online on GitHub with an open-source license. It's a platform that uses the world of Minecraft as a testing ground for advanced artificial intelligence research."
date: "2016-07-14"
modified: "2016-11-29"
authors:
  - name: "Arra Dianne Hifarva"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/arrahifarva"
url: "https://futurism.com/researchers-are-using-minecraft-to-test-artificial-intelligence"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "microsoft"
  - "Minecraft"
---

# Researchers Are Using Minecraft to Test Artificial Intelligence

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/A-Scott-Eklund-Red-Box-Pictures..jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="http://blogs.microsoft.com/" target="\_blank"\>Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures.\</a\>\</em\>*

Minecraft isn't just for gamers. Now, the video game has a scientific connection.

Microsoft has made Project Malmo available for programmers on [GitHub](<https://github.com/Microsoft/malmo>) via an open-source license. This platform uses the world of Minecraft to test advancements in artificial intelligence research. Before this move, the system was only used in private viewing by computer scientists.

![Credit: Microsoft Project Malmo](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/malmo_human_ai_interaction-web.png>)
*Credit: Microsoft Project Malmo*

"We're trying to put out the tools that will allow people to make progress on those really, really hard research questions," Katja Hofmann said, the leader of [Project Malmo](<https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-malmo/>) and a researcher in Microsoft's research lab in Cambridge, UK. She said that the system will help researchers in developing new techniques and approaches to reinforcement learning.

The launching of Project Malmo to the public allows computer scientists to create robots that can learn to talk to people. This is one of the goals of [AI research](<https://futurism.com/deep-learning-ai-leads-robot-to-victory-in-amazons-picking-challenge>), for bots to comprehend each other just like how we humans do. Novice to expert programmers are welcome to experience the system.