Programmers have created a computer that has learned how to play classic Atari games. That may not sound revolutionary, but according to programmer Demis Hassabis, it’s a significant step forward in artificial intelligence. After all, the computer (DeepMind) learned how to play them all on its own, with programmers only giving the thing rewards for winning.

Proficiency in “Space Invaders” is, for a computer, much more complex (ironically) than playing the perfect game of chess, what with the latter’s rigid gameplay and relatively limited number of iterations. However, Hassabis admits that DeepMind still has trouble dealing with maze-based games such as “Pac Man.” So there’s that. (engadget)