OpenAI’s bot can now defeat skilled Dota 2 teams

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t just great at applying slow-motion effects to videos and recommending products from pictures of home decor. It’s also capable of besting skilled human players at one of the world’s most popular online strategy games: Valve’s Dota 2.

In a blog post today, OpenAI, a non-profit, San Francisco-based AI research company backed by Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, and Peter Thiel, and other tech luminaries, revealed that the latest version of its Dota 2-playing AI — dubbed OpenAI Five — managed to beat five teams of amateur players in June, including one made up of Valve employees.