If you've ever wanted an AI assistant to do make sure your PC is optimized for whatever game you're playing, NVIDIA may have the answer. The company is showing off a new demo called G-Assist, a GeForce-powered AI chatbot that might one day help reduce the more tedious aspects of gaming.
G-Assist performs a couple of key functions around both setup and directly in games. In a demo running inside ARK: Survival Ascended, NVIDIA shows it answering queries like «what's the next early game weapon and where do I find the crafting materials for it.» In response, it points out that the best one is a spear and describes how to gather wood, flint and fiber to make one.
Some purists might see that as cheating, but another G-Assist tool looks to be less ethically fraught. If you ask it to optimize settings for a game like Cyberpunk 2077, it can do things like directly apply the highest quality graphics settings. It can also analyze your system as a whole and recommend changes like boosting your 4K monitor refresh rate from 60Hz to 144Hz.
NVIDIA has used the G-Assist name before for a 2017 April Fool's joke, saying the AI would play games for you in «Ghostplay» mode while you went to pay for a pizza at the door. The new G-Assist can't do that, but it could still be helpful by eliminating the busywork needed for system optimization. It's just a demonstration for now, but NVIDIA is actively signing up developers interested in learning more about the project.
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