Earlier this month, Dr. Thomas Walter Murphy VII put out a machine that could learn to play not one game but many, without any specialized prior knowledge about any particular game. Murphy’s invention has been making the rounds on the Internet, and for anyone who was a fan of the original Nintendo, the video of its performance is a must-watch. The program conquers a number of original games, like Super Mario Brothers, where it manages to discover trick moves, attempt strategies, and push its way to the end of the game.
Read more: The New Yorker