Razer has released a backseat gaming AI bot called Ava, and I'm not sure whether using it should be considered cheating or not

pcgamer.com:

Well, we all knew CES 2025 was going to be chock full of AI, didn't we? So it's not too surprising that we're seeing it rammed into every proverbial nook and cranny, even those that surely nobody could want.

Razer's "Project Ava" is one such AI implementation that, at first glance, boggles and baffles. That's because it's essentially a backseat gamer, and it seems Razer might have missed the memo that «backseat gamer» is usually a derogatory term.

But that's not entirely fair, because initial impressions aside, and as much as it pains me to say it about anything AI, Project Ava might have some genuine benefit for gamers. Project Ava, Razer says, can act as «the ultimate AI esports coach» and an «all-knowing AI game guide». It's essentially an AI assistant that monitors your gameplay and gives you vocalised hints in real time.

The idea is that it can pull from lots of different sources to give you real-time advice while gaming, whether that's in a single-player game like Black Myth: Wukong or an esports title you might need a hand with.

The bot, Razer says, offers «expert AI advice that draws from a wealth of community wisdom and knowledge bases. This allows gamers to stay fully immersed in the challenge without ever having to tab out. Gamers can bring up Ava while they are taking a quick break, hear Ava in their headset while they are in the action, or keep it simple with a chatbox. Whatever the choice, Ava is always game to help users win.»

Project Ava also includes AI-aided single-click PC and game optimisation, but that's less interesting to me than all this backseat gaming malarkey. Malarkey, that is, which the more cynical might consider to be a form of cheating.

At the very least, Project Ava raises questions about where we want to draw the boundary between simple assistance and cheating. After all, one can have a build guide up to read while playing League of Legends, and we usually consider that to be fine. Does that assessment change if we have a bot