Sony AI Showcases the Latest Evolution of Gran Turismo Sophy™ at Gran Turismo® World Series 2022 Exhibition Race

Breakthrough Racing AI Agent Races Top Gran Turismo Players in GT7 on PlayStation 5

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TOKYO, Nov. 28, 2022 Sony AI showcased the newest evolution of Gran Turismo Sophy^TM (GT Sophy), its breakthrough autonomous AI racing agent, at the Gran Turismo^® World Finals 2022 (GTWS 2022) organized by Polyphony Digital Inc. (PDI), which took place November 24-27 in Monaco. 

The event featured a thrilling exhibition showdown between four of the world’s top Gran Turismo^TM (GT) drivers and GT Sophy. Valerio Gallo, Igor Fraga, Emily Jones, and Takuma Miyazono went head-to-head with GT Sophy in Gran Turismo 7 on PlayStation 5 in an exhibition race that was featured during the GTWS World Finals 2022 – Nations Cup Grand Final live stream and is available on the GTWS 2022 Championships website. Watch the highlight video of the exhibition race here.

Since GT Sophy’s unveiling, Sony AI, in partnership with PDI and Sony Interactive Entertainment, has continued to evolve GT Sophy’s capabilities and explore ways to make it more accessible to the greater Gran Turismo driver community via software update to GT7. Part of that challenge has been training GT Sophy to more closely mimic human racing behavior, including driving technique, drifting, steering control, penalty avoidance and more, to create the most dynamic and fun experience possible for all Gran Turismo players.

"With GT Sophy, I can test my limits. To beat GT Sophy, you have to give everything."
Valerio Gallo

"I feel like Sophy and I have a strong rivalry. I’m excited to race GT Sophy each time and want to out-crazy the AI."
Emily Jones

"GT Sophy is very fast and as her driving etiquette improves, it’s almost like driving against another human being, and I look forward to racing with GT Sophy every time."
Takuma Miyazono

In support of that goal, PDI and Sony AI have continued to test GT Sophy’s capabilities against a wide range of race experts and Gran Turismo players — from traditional and esports racers to Gran Turismo novices — to continue to refine its capabilities.

"Since achieving our first goal of outracing the best Gran Turismo players, our newest challenge has been training Gran Turismo Sophy to drive competitively with a broader range of players, by continually testing and refining the agent’s driving and racing etiquette skills," said Michael Spranger, Chief Operating Officer, Sony AI. "As we continue to improve GT Sophy’s capabilities, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to race it against some of the best drivers in the world, and make GT Sophy available to the wider GT7 community."

GT Sophy is the first superhuman AI agent to outrace the world’s best drivers of the Gran Turismo World Series. The AI breakthrough, featured in the February 10^th, 2022  issue of Nature, demonstrates how AI can deliver new gaming experiences to players.

GTWS 2022 marks the fifth year of the official competitive Gran Turismo Championships. The international championship competition is open to anyone with a copy of Gran Turismo^TM 7.

Details on the Gran Turismo Sophy project, technology and the Race Together 2021 challenge races can be found at the Gran Turismo Sophy site.

About Sony AI

Sony AI Inc. was founded on April 1, 2020, with the mission to "unleash human imagination and creativity with AI." Sony AI aims to combine cutting edge research and development of artificial intelligence with Sony Group’s imaging and sensing technology, robotics technology, and entertainment assets such as movies, music, and games to accelerate Sony’s transformation into an AI powered company and to create new business opportunities. To achieve this, Sony AI has launched four flagship projects to date aimed at the evolution and application of AI technology in the areas of Gaming, Imaging & Sensing, Gastronomy, and AI Ethics. For more information visit https://ai.sony.

About Polyphony Digital and Gran Turismo

Gran Turismo™ is a video game developed by Polyphony Digital Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Having launched in Japan first in 1997, the multi-award-winning franchise is regarded as the best and most authentic driving simulator due to true-to-life graphics, authentic physics technology and careful attention to detail. Polyphony and its famed creator Kazunori Yamauchi have revolutionized the racing game genre. 
https://www.gran-turismo.com/
https://www.polyphony.co.jp/

About Sony Interactive Entertainment

Recognized as a global leader in interactive and digital entertainment, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is responsible for the PlayStation® brand and family of products and services. PlayStation has delivered innovation to the market since the launch of the original PlayStation in Japan in 1994. The PlayStation family of products and services include PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation™Store, PlayStation®Plus, PlayStation™Now, and acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, SIE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation and has global functions in California, London and Tokyo.