GPT-4 created a playable version of Pong in 60 seconds

GPT-4 has only been around for a day, but users are already learning the power of the new AI tool. One user claimed that the bot created a working version of Stink from scratch in 60 seconds.

GPT-4 is the latest AI model from OpenAI, the research group behind ChatGPT. It is a large language model (LLM) trained on data up to 2021 that can understand prompts and respond to them in natural language. It’s currently only available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, though the technology is already being used to power tools like Microsoft’s Bing Chat service. After a day of tooling, users have found that the powerful tool is capable of generating fully functional code for games.

pietro schiranodesign lead at financial company Brex, tweeted that he was able to obtain GPT-4 to create a working version of Stink in less than 60 seconds. To accomplish that, he didn’t need to say much. After telling the bot that he wanted to create a “Pong-like game,” he quickly spit out some basic HTML and JavaScript as an example. That code produced a fully working version of Stinkminus the marker.

I don’t care that it’s not AGI, GPT-4 is amazing and transformative technology.
I recreated the game of Pong in less than 60 seconds.
It was my first try.
Things will never be the same. #gpt4 pic.twitter.com/8YMUK0UQmd
–Pietro Schirano (@skirano) March 14, 2023

That’s not the only game GPT-4 has spawned so far. Schirano was similarly able to obtain a working version of Escape through similar means, as well as a rudimentary clone of asteroids. Others have shared AI-created versions of Snake, connect 4, and more.

While the feat is impressive, it deepens some debates about the potential role of AI in game development. Earlier this month, a ChatGPT user obtained the bot to generate an “original” puzzle game called complete. Digital Trends soon discovered that various versions of complete they already exist, which raises questions about how he “invented” the game. More concerning, we were able to get ChatGPT to “plagiarize” its own code to complete simply by asking it to generate a game with the same name.

GPT-4’s ability to recreate existing games could put the AI model on a slippery slope in the future. At what point do you get the ability to generate code for more complex games like Super Mario Bros.? Could that create a legal problem for OpenAI in the future? At the rate that technology evolves, we may find out soon.