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Pokémon Go players have been training a world-faring AI model
Niantic, the developer behind Pokémon Go, has revealed that users have been contributing to the creation of an AI model. This Large Geospatial Model, as it is being referred to, is designed to traverse the physical world. It has used players' data in a similar way that ChatGPT uses vast quantities
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Pokémon Go Players Have Been Unknowingly Training an AI to Auto-Complete the Real World - IGN
Pokémon Go developer Niantic is hard at work building and training an AI to essentially be able to auto-complete real-world locations with only a limited amount of information. And it's using data collected by Pokémon Go players to do it. In an official blog post spotted by Garbage Day and
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If you played Pokémon Go you trained an AI without realizing
Pokémon Go players are unwittingly training an advanced AI system designed by Niantic to complete real-world locations. This initiative centers around a "Large Geospatial Model" (LGM), which relies on user-generated data to enhance augmented reality and robotics applications. Niantic's official
[4]
Pokémon Go Players Have Been Training an AI to Auto-Complete the Real World - IGN
Pokémon Go developer Niantic is hard at work building and training an AI to essentially be able to auto-complete real-world locations with only a limited amount of information. And it's using data collected by Pokémon Go players to do it. In an official blog post spotted by Garbage Day and
[5]
Pokemon Go players are actually training a giant AI model
In 2016, Pokemon Go was about as wholesome as video games got, as it largely involved walking around your neighborhood and meeting up with strangers. In 2024, nothing is allowed to be wholesome, apparently. Based on a blog post by developer Niantic as well as news reports from the likes of 404
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Pokémon Go Players Have Unwittingly Trained AI to Navigate the World
Niantic says it is using data generated by Pokémon Go players to create a "Large Geospatial Model" that can navigate the real world and power robots. Niantic, the company behind the extremely popular augmented reality mobile games Pokémon Go and Ingress, announced that it is using data collected
[7]
Gotta Catch 'Em All: How Pokémon Go covertly captured your data for years to train a massive AI model
Players of "Pokémon Go" -- an augmented reality (AR) mobile game released in 2016 that took the world by storm -- have been unwittingly training an artificial intelligence (AI) model to map the planet at street level. Niantic, the company behind the popular game, has revealed that it will use data
[8]
Niantic uses Pokémon Go player data to build AI navigation system
Last week, Niantic announced plans to create an AI model for navigating the physical world using scans collected from players of its mobile games, such as Pokémon Go, and from users of its Scaniverse app, reports 404 Media. All AI models require training data. So far, companies have collected data
[9]
Pokémon Go Players Unknowingly Help Train Niantic's AI Mapping System
Pokémon Go's developer, Niantic, is building an advanced large geospatial model out of the data gathered. This artificial intelligence system specializes in recognizing and mapping 3D spaces worldwide. Niantic recently published a blog post discussing this large-scale project, which will help the
[10]
It's not just a game. Your Pokemon Go player data is training AI map models.
Players of Pokémon Go may not have realized it, but they've been training more than their Pokémon. Niantic, the developer behind the popular mobile game Pokémon Go, announced last week it is building an AI model to map the physical world. This "large geospatial model" would utilize data
[11]
Did you play Pokémon Go? You didn't know it, but you were training AI to map the world
You probably didn't know it, but if you played or are still playing Pokémon Go (there are more than half a million active players), you were helping train an AI-powered geospatial model that aims to map the world. A blog post from Niantic, the software developer behind the popular game, explains
[12]
Ever Played Pokémon Go? You Helped Train an AI for 'Spatial Intelligence'
Pokémon Go developer Niantic is building a "large geospatial" AI model with the goal of giving the AI "spatial intelligence" by using real-world images collected from its games' players, several news outlets reported this week following a post from Niantic itself. Spatial intelligence is an AI's
[13]
Niantic is building a 'geospatial' AI model based on Pokémon Go player data
Niantic has announced that it's building a new "Large Geospatial Model" (LGM) that combines millions of scans taken from the smartphones of players of Pokémon Go and other Niantic products. This AI model could allow computers and robots to understand and interact with the world in new ways, the
[14]
Niantic makes Geospatial models from Pokémon Go, Ingress data
Disclaimer: This content generated by AI & may have errors or hallucinations. Edit before use. Read our Terms of use Augmented reality video game company Niantic is working on a large geospatial model to help computers perceive spaces using data from its popular video game Pokémon Go. Geospatial
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Niantic, the developer of Pokémon Go, has revealed that players have been contributing to the creation of a Large Geospatial Model (LGM), an AI system designed to understand and interact with physical spaces.

Niantic, the developer behind the popular augmented reality game Pokémon Go, has revealed that players have been unknowingly contributing to the development of a sophisticated AI system called the Large Geospatial Model (LGM)
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. This AI model is designed to understand and interact with physical spaces, drawing parallels to how large language models like ChatGPT process text data.The LGM is trained on vast amounts of real-world location data, allowing it to predict and understand characteristics of places it hasn't directly encountered
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. Niantic explains that while each location is unique, many share common traits that the model can learn from. For instance, the LGM could potentially infer information about the back of a church based on data collected from thousands of other churches worldwide.To build this model, Niantic has been leveraging data collected by Pokémon Go players. The company has developed a Visual Positioning System (VPS) that uses smartphone images to determine a user's position and orientation with high accuracy
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. This technology enables precise digital overlays on the physical world, enhancing augmented reality experiences.Niantic reports impressive figures for its data collection efforts:
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While Niantic primarily intends to use this technology for enhancing its own products, including AR experiences in Pokémon Go, the potential applications extend to fields such as robotics, content creation, and autonomous systems
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. However, this development has raised concerns about data privacy and potential military applications of such technology5
.In response to these concerns, Niantic has clarified that the scans building this model are entirely opt-in and currently focused on improving player experience. The company stated, "This scanning feature is completely optional - people have to visit a specific publicly-accessible location and click to scan. This allows Niantic to deliver new types of AR experiences for people to enjoy. Merely walking around playing our games does not train an AI model."
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As AI continues to intersect with gaming and real-world data, the development of Niantic's Large Geospatial Model highlights both the innovative potential and the ethical considerations surrounding such technologies.
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