Watch as DOTA 2's best players get thrashed by an Elon Musk-funded AI bot

Elon Musk may be terrified of artificial intelligence (AI) and spreading a message of AI-led doom, but that hasn't stopped him from funding companies that are developing advanced AI.

DOTA 2

OpenAI, a startup funded by Elon Musk, has developed an AI bot for DOTA 2 that's managed to beat the very best DOTA 2 players in 1v1 matches. DOTA 2, as any gamer will attest, is a complex game that requires strategy, critical thinking and long-term planning. To be fair to Musk, he claims to have funded OpenAI in an attempt to prevent AI from taking over the world. We suppose that Musk believes in the mantra of fighting fire with fire (AI with AI, in this case).

While bots have mastered games like Chess and Go, video games like DOTA 2 are still a challenge, but one that OpenAI seems equal to. The AI was apparently developed in just two month, two weeks of which was spent in "intensive" training where the bot amassed "lifetimes" worth of experience, or so says The Verge.

The bot made its international debut at The International, the largest esports tournament in the world with a prize pool of $24 million. At the event, the bot faced off against a number of professional players before playing Danylo "Dendi" Ishutin, one of the best players of the game. The bot crushed Dendi.
Players expressed surprise at the many human-like qualities the bot expressed, but Dendi did add that the bot felt a "little like something else" as well.

Elon Musk was ecstatic at the success of the bot and tweeted out the following:

OpenAI first ever to defeat world's best players in competitive eSports. Vastly more complex than traditional board games like chess & Go.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2017

The OpenAI team now hope to build up a team of AI bots to take on the very best DOTA 2 teams in traditional 5v5 matches by next year.

Much as we'd hate to see our favourite teams get thrashed by a team of bots, it's hard to pretend that we're not excited at the prospect.