AI Agent on a Virtual Island Invented Its Own Games

In an experiment, researchers left copies of Claude Opus 4.7 on a virtual island for 30 hours on several occasions. The agents, named Eko, were not given specific activities: they explored a world inspired by Roblox and came up with their own goals.

One version of Eko came up with a form of basketball and a game resembling “the floor is lava”: the agent jumped across small blocks, trying not to touch the ground. In other episodes, the agents tried to climb to the island’s highest point or see how high they could toss a block.

At the same time, Eko was described in its instruction file as “naturally curious” and eager to explore the world. The researchers are unsure whether the agent was really playing or imitating play behavior. The paper describing the work has not yet undergone peer review.

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Translation editor: Салтанов А.