CH110 - Presentation

President Fred Terman, sitting in the front row, spoke at the right moment, reaching for a microphone, and said, "Oh Ethan, I think your words are a bit off because those who can sit here are all greedy..."

"I've lived here for seventy years, I've seen Stanford grow from nothing, but I still hope it can become better. Isn't my idea greedy?"

"Even though David and Bill are no longer managing the daily affairs of HP, they still want HP to become an evergreen enterprise for a hundred years. Isn't that greed?"

"Professor Chuck Peddle's deeds I've heard of; he hopes computers can be used by the public. Isn't that greed?"

"And today, Professor Ralph H. Baer, who is present, would rather not charge patent fees to let you make games. He wants to bring more joy to the public. Isn't that even more greedy?"

At this point, the old headmaster's voice instantly rose.

Laughter erupted in the audience, accompanied by approving applause.

There were also supportive remarks—

"Ethan, Fred is right. Only greedy people can succeed!" Homer Ray Oldfield, the computer manager at General Electric, sitting next to Arnold Spielberg, exclaimed loudly.

"Who doesn't want to leave a mark in history?" laughed the MOS developers next to Chuck Peddle.

"If pursuing better things is greed, then we at HP are willing to be greedy to death," declared HP's founder, David Packard.

After these voices of agreement subsided, Fred Truman continued, "So, Ethan, I always feel that your 'Snake Game' is well done. From the starting point, it aligns with human nature. And today's game, I believe you won't disappoint us..."

At this point, the seventy-six-year-old man stopped.

Without hesitation, Ethan continued the conversation, "As President Fred and everyone else mentioned, this game today is even more greedy. Because I want its name to resonate worldwide."

He removed the curtain from the 'Pac-Man machine beside him.

With his actions, an arcade machine depicting four ghosts chasing Pac-Man appeared in front of everyone.

"The concept of our game is simple..."

"Players control a character, attempting to survive by eating all the dots in the maze."

"At the same time, there are four guardians/ghosts in the maze, fervently protecting their home."

"This red ghost has a temper; I call it 'Persistence' because after spotting the player, it will relentlessly chase the player to drive them out of its home."

"This pink ghost is a mischievous girl; I call it 'Foreknowledge' because it can reach the player's destination ahead and set up an ambush."

"This blue ghost is a clever trickster; I call it 'Encirclement' because it coordinates with the red one to trap the player."

"And this orange ghost represents the most neutral aspect of human nature; I call it 'Casual' because it won't attack the player unless provoked."

Ethan pointed to the pattern on the arcade, introducing it to the audience.

As he introduced each ghost, the faces of the people in the audience became more serious because everyone understood that this was the AI display they most wanted to see.

After Ethan finished the introduction, the tech-savvy experts all squinted their eyes.

When this scene appeared, Ethan knew the timing was right.

He directly turned on the electronic arcade.

For demonstration purposes, this arcade still used an external wired controller.

With his actions, the game quickly reached the first level.

Under his control, the yellow Pac-Man ran out of the middle house, eating dots along the map's path, continuously feasting.

After eating about ten dots, the red ghost suddenly activated, following the footsteps of the yellow Pac-Man, crazily pursuing.

No matter how the yellow Pac-Man fled, the red temper ghost wouldn't give up, relentlessly chasing.

Moreover, the speed of the red ghost would increase as the dots on the field decreased...

When one-fifth of the dots on the field were eaten, the intense pursuit truly gave a sense of recklessness!

"Although this algorithm is simple to write, the inspiration behind it is impressive," commented someone from the audience.

And just when people were about to agree, the pink ghost suddenly moved.

Once she appeared, she rushed towards the direction of the player, but unlike the red ghost, she didn't have the intention to relentlessly pursue. Instead, she arrived in front of the player, aiming to ambush.

Not only that, whenever the yellow Pac-Man changed direction, the pink ghost reacted.

She would change positions to better ambush the player.

What amazed people the most was—

"This pink ghost can even take detours???"

That's right! When a wall on the map separated the yellow Pac-Man and the pink ghost, the pink ghost chose to take a detour based on the direction of the yellow Pac-Man's movement!

At first, people didn't notice anything strange.

But when the red ghost drove the yellow Pac-Man to the position of the pink ghost, the premeditated ambush made everyone on the scene exclaim—

"Oh!!! There's something special about this algorithm!!!"

"This isn't just literal cooperation! The algorithms of the red and pink ghosts intersect!!!"

And just when the guests thought the pink ghost's algorithm was already impressive because the dynamic calculation fully showcased the CPU's strength.

The next second, the yellow Pac-Man had already eaten two-fifths of the dots on the map.

Then—

The trigger condition activated, and the blue ghost rushed out of the haunted house!

Then—

It became the most eye-catching scene in the room!

Because it used vector calculations, flanking the player from the other side of the red ghost!

When a real flanking situation occurred, everyone in the room frowned!

If only this much happened, it wouldn't be considered true intelligence!

When the blue ghost gave up the path where the pink ghost was and went to block other intersections to intercept the yellow Pac-Man...

The coordinated actions of the three humanoid entities surprised the researchers who had been working on AI for many years—

"Oh! My! God! How long did it take you to write this algorithm?"

"Oh—when we've been emphasizing the learning aspect of artificial intelligence, why didn't anyone think that games are the best showcase? Although this is a game, it can be the basis for academic papers! And this game can be used for teaching in engineering colleges! What is the logical thinking of machines? What is artificial intelligence? Although we still can't turn machines into brains, this logic of pursuit is the best practical embodiment!"

Although discussions had already started below, Ethan did not stop.

Because the orange ghost was the one who truly understood human nature.

When the little orange entered the map, everyone in the room realized how much this AI resembled a human!

Once the player entered its pursuit range, it worked hard like an employee under close supervision!

And if the player moved away from its pursuit range, it would start slacking off like a worker finding out the boss disappeared!

Once the player entered its pursuit range multiple times in a short period, it would work diligently again, just like countless PTSD patients scared by the boss's sudden 'high-efficiency' work!

After the player stayed away from its pursuit for a long time, it would start slacking off again!

When this lively and vivid display full of vitality appeared on the arcade screen...

Even though the more than forty people present were mentally prepared, they were still amazed!

"This is indeed the true application of AI technology in games!"

"Although we all have the ability to write such algorithms, but... this inspiration, we really didn't have..."

Principal Fred Terman, who had already seen the effects, decisively concluded with a smile.

At the same time, he stood up and shaky, approached the arcade machine, wanting to appreciate the performance of AI in games up close.

As the first one approached, naturally, there was a second one following.

Ralph H. Baer went straight to the arcade machine. As he observed Ethan's control of the joystick and paid attention to the way the four ghosts chased in the game, the seamless pursuit made him burst into laughter.

"Oh, Ethan—Is this the gift you gave me?"

"This game is really amazing!"

"It makes me feel that the best thing I've ever done in my life is to be an advisor to your company!"

With the second one, there naturally came a third, fourth, and fifth...

Although there were big shots at the scene, Steven Spielberg wasn't afraid. He directly came to Ethan's side.

"Oh! Damn! I've never seen a game like this in my life! It looks so interesting!"

At the same time, he also wanted to experience the latest game. "Oh, Ethan... my good buddy... let me play a round..."

The next second, he remembered something, "By the way! Did you promise to give me a game arcade machine before?"

"Is this one mine?"

"Can I take it with me later?"

Before Ethan could answer, a roar came, "Oh, Steven—calm down!"

It was the voice of Arnold Spielberg.

"How can I calm down? This game is really damn interesting!" Spielberg completely ignored his old man.

He lightly bumped into Ethan, trying to take the external joystick from his hand.

This situation made Ethan somewhat helpless.

Since the game had already been showcased, he didn't insist and directly handed over the joystick.

And as he faced the guest seat again...

The almost crowded figures that had gathered, with eager eyes, startled him!

But the next second, he became happy again.

Because he knew that this press conference was very successful!

"Do you like it?" Ethan patted Chuck Peddle on the shoulder, smiling, "Made with your chips."

"Oh—this is truly our honour!" Chuck Peddle hugged Ethan and laughed, "Ethan! Thank you! You've proven that the MOS 6502 is useful for us!"

After returning the hug, Ethan came to Ralph H. Baer and directly put his arm around him.

"How about it, Professor Baer are you satisfied with this game?" Ethan smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Arnold is right, the minds of you young people are indeed more agile than ours." Ralph H. Baer also opened his arms and hugged Ethan, "Thank you, you've provided me with a new perspective. The era of circuit boards may really be over..."

Such words made Ethan nod and laugh.

Being able to show off in front of these big shots, that was really...

Awesome!

Of course, compared to showing off, there was something even cooler waiting for him.

When Ethan looked around, he found that two people in the guest seats had not moved.

Moreover, at this moment, they were like wooden statues, staring blankly ahead.

This situation made Ethan take a detour and go behind them.

Then, he opened his arms and directly hugged the two people.

After that, he smiled and said, "Nolan, haven't seen you in six months. How have you been today, seeing my game?"

Yes, one of the people Ethan hugged was Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari!

After hearing Ethan's words, this guy widened his eyes, and turned his head with difficulty.

In those bloodshot eyes, there was a look of shock.

"It's great..."

He struggled to spit out his evaluation.

"Oh, thank you." Ethan nodded and thanked him with a smile.

Then, he turned his gaze to the other person, "And Mr. from Magnavox, what do you think?"

As soon as this was said, the old man in a white suit suddenly gasped for breath.

After a while, he said, "Very... very good... extremely good..."

"Thank you." Ethan smiled with narrowed eyes.

He lightly patted the arms of the two people and said happily, "I'm really honoured that you both like it."

He slightly bowed and then left.

That chic figure made the two clench their fists.

But after a moment, the sudden powerlessness made them arch their backs.

Because they knew, this was Stanford!

They were well aware...

None of the VIPs present could be messed with!