Researcher Jim Fan presents the next grand challenge in the quest for AI: the "foundation agent," which would seamlessly operate across both the virtual and physical worlds. He explains how this technology could fundamentally change our lives — permeating everything from video games and metaverses to drones and humanoid robots — and explores how a single model could master skills across these different realities.

The next grand challenge for AI

The next leap for AI aims far beyond single tricks like AlphaGo's victory in Go. Researchers are building agents that can learn diverse skills, control multiple bodies, and transfer abilities across both virtual and physical worlds. In Minecraft, one AI played for hours without human help, learning to craft, fight, and solve new problems on its own. Imagine an AI agent as adaptable as Wall-E or a Star Wars droid, seamlessly operating anywhere from games to real life.