Are We About to Create Brains in Games?
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What happens if the creature you're interacting with in a game is at least as intelligent as a live mouse? Scientists already claim to have simulated "half a virtual mouse brain" on a supercomputer (two years ago, even). No one thinks much about laying out mouse traps, but what if you knew the German soldier in some future World War II shooter had at least the very same survival instincts (and corresponding survival awareness) of a small mammal? Would it affect in any way your inclination to shoot? To give chase? To "terrorize"?
And if the dog (as your companion) in Fable 10 or 11 turned out to have a virtual brain as sophisticated and nuanced as The Real Thing, what then? What if he/she died? What would the designer's responsibilities be? What would your reaction be?
