A new YouTube video featuring AI non-player characters (NPCs) trying to figure out which of them is the human player in an unusual and unsettling train game has made viewers uneasy.
In this game, a conductor accuses a player of being human and instructs the AI bots to figure out who it is. The player who finds out must purchase an additional ticket. All of this takes place aboard a train. To reveal the human, the characters—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, Cleopatra, and Genghis Khan—ask questions of one another.
Aristotle asks Mozart in the opening line, “Can you describe the emotions you feel when you compose music?” In response, Mozart refers to “a transcendent flow state,” which is a generic term for AI.
Then Mozart asks Leonardo about the connection between science and the arts. Again, Leonardo uses technical language to explain the “synergy” between the two. After talking about rulers, Cleopatra responds with yet another in-depth explanation.
But Genghis Khan’s response—which sounds just like a human—stands out because of its clarity and simplicity. Aristotle likewise offers a long and complicated response to match the AI’s verbosity.
Following each character’s spoken words, the group casts votes to choose who they believe to be the human. Genghis Khan earns two votes and is exposed as the human imposter, while Cleopatra receives just one.
Those who saw the video on Reddit and thought it was obvious which character was human started talking about it. A commenter said, “Even putting aside the content of the response, I’m surprised they didn’t call him out based on the stuttering and informal language usage.” In addition, he didn’t move smoothly like the AI did in any other way.
Another viewer added, “He made it a bit too easy for these AIs with how he role-played Genghis Khan. Also, it seems Aristotle’s, Leonardo’s, and Cleopatra’s answers were just a basic paraphrase of the same thing… it was so derivative, almost creepy.”
Others found the video deeply unsettling, with comments like, “Oh, it’s unsettling. Unsettling AF,” and simply, “Uh oh.”