Grand Theft Auto V Is Helping Teach Driverless Car AI The game is a very rich and realistic simulation from which to learn to drive.

By Matthew Humphries

This story originally appeared on PCMag

via PC Mag

Driverless vehicles are coming, and we'll be relying on them to transport us around in the next decade if everything goes to plan. But before that can happen, the artificial intelligence controlling the cars needs to prove itself to be completely reliable. How do you do that? With lots of learning!

Car AI needs to drive a lot. That may seem obvious, but the AI needs to experience any and all driving situations so as to learn and demonstrate the right reaction. It's very difficult to experience all situations on real roads, so simulation is key. And it turns out the best simulation is a game we've been enjoying for a few years now: Grand Theft Auto V.

If you look past the violence, GTA V is about as complete a city and road simulation as you can get. As detailed on Bloomberg, entering the world of GTA V gives an AI access to 262 different types of car, 14 weather conditions, every road situation you can think of and more than 1,000 different types of pedestrian to deal with. Driving around the city of Los Santos day-after-day would certainly prove to be a good learning experience.

Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (PAVE) realized this, with PAVE advisor and Princeton University professor Alain Kornhauser referring to GTA V as, "the richest virtual environment that we could extract data from." Last year, Intel Labs and Darmstadt University of Technology went so far as to pull visual data from the game, and now algorithms are being developed using GTA V data to help improve driverless car AI.

So when we do all start trusting an AI to safely drive us to a destination, remember it was in part due to the tireless population of Los Santos going about their daily business and acting as a teaching tool. And don't forget, this kind of sumlation isn't limited for use by the big car manufacturers. In January, the DeepDrive project opened this up to everyone.

Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Fundraising

How to Navigate Fundraising Challenges Like a Pro and Win Over Investors

Raising capital for your business is one of the most difficult hurdles to success. Here are some helpful tips for meeting these challenges head-on and overcoming them.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Walmart Is Laying Off Hundreds, Relocating Others as the Company Closes a U.S. Office

Walmart is giving some employees at least a month to decide if they want to relocate.

Business News

Thieves Steal $40,000 Worth of Eggs in a Massive Trailer Heist: 'Liquid Gold'

Egg prices are expected to continue to rise in 2025.

Leadership

Entrepreneurs Drive the Economy — But Are We Doing Enough to Support Them?

Are we doing enough to encourage innovative entrepreneurs to take risks for the benefit of society at large?

Side Hustle

His 6-Figure Side Hustle Fills a 'Glaring' Gap for Coffee Drinkers — Now It's 'Taken On a Life of Its Own'

Ryan Schneider already had one coffee-related business. Then the lightbulb went off for another.