Activision is reportedly introducing an AI system in Call of Duty to detect toxic behavior

According to various online sources, Caltech and Activision will collaborate to create an AI system to combat toxic behavior in Call of Duty. The news initially arrived on the official Caltech website. According to the press release, Anima Anandkumar and Michael Alvarez will lead the research team from Caltech.

Call of Duty is a first-person shooter title with fast-paced and intense gunplay. The series blew up with Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and became a cultural phenomenon. However, the ability to communicate with other players within the COD games has often raised concerns of toxicity and other unruly behavior.

By default, the rebooted Modern Warfare 2 (2022) allows for proximity chat. While most fans use it for proper communication, it is being misused in several instances to bully or troll other players.

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Caltech and Activision to create an AI to combat toxicity in Call of Duty

Combating toxicity online, indeed, isn't a convenient task. Hence, two renowned Caltech researchers, Anima Anandkumar and Michael Alvarez are collaborating with Activision on a two-year research project to develop an AI that can detect toxic behavior online and assist Activision's moderation team in penalizing such players.

Both of these Caltech researchers have made significant contributions in their respective fields. Anima Anandkumar, the Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, has trained artificial intelligence to fly drones and study the coronavirus. Michael Alvarez, Professor of Political and Computational Social Science, has used machine learning tools to study political trends in social media.

Both are already working on an AI system capable of detecting trolling instances on the internet. Activision's collaboration with these Caltech researchers will provide the prior with the requisite knowledge and experience in creating a tool for Call of Duty to combat inappropriate behavior.

Activision's Chief Technology Officer, Michael Vance, states,

Our teams continue to make great progress in combating disruptive behavior, and we also want to look much further down the road.

He then adds,

This collaboration will allow us to build upon our existing work and explore the frontier of research in this area.

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This is all there is to know about the teaming up of Caltech with Activision. Although both teams have joined, the AI system is still a work in progress. It is expected to arrive in video games in 2-3 years. Hence, it is doubtful that the technology will appear in the current Call of Duty title.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2's Season 1 Reloaded is now live on PC (via Battle.net and Steam), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.