--- description: Testing AI in the world of Minecraft, why the midlife crisis is a myth and more. title: How Minecraft Can Make Artificial Intelligence Even Smarter image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Minecraft Can Make Artificial Intelligence Even Smarter by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2016 4:01 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2016 4:01 PM CUT **1\.** [**Soon artificial intelligence ‘agents’ will train in the open-ended world of Minecraft.**](http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/14/microsoft-is-using-minecraft-to-develop-artificial-intelligence-tech-for-the-real-world/ "undefined") By Jon Russell in TechCrunch **2\.** [**The midlife crisis is a myth.**](http://www.npr.org/2016/03/14/469813659/forget-the-red-sports-car-the-midlife-crisis-is-a-myth "undefined") By Barbara Bradley Hagerty in NPR **3\.** [**This cyborg patch will regulate a damaged heart — and send real-time data to your doctor.**](http://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2016-03/afot-ccp031416.php "undefined") By Tel Aviv University at EurekAlert **4\.** [**Fix the college application process.**](http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/03/07/how-can-the-college-admissions-process-be-improved/ "undefined") By Holly Korbey in KQED’s MindShift **5\.** [**Are urgent crises distracting the U.S. from long-term threats — like North Korean nukes?**](http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/missing-big-picture-us-policy-north-korea-could-bring-disaster "undefined") By Paul Bracken in Yale Global  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4258901/minecraft-artificial-intelligence-smarter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4258901/minecraft-artificial-intelligence-smarter/"},"headline":"How Minecraft Can Make Artificial Intelligence Even Smarter","datePublished":"2016-03-15T16:01:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:16.064Z","description":"These are today's best ideas","url":"https://time.com/4258901/minecraft-artificial-intelligence-smarter/","keywords":["Innovation","North Korea","College","Minecraft","Heart Disease","AI"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4258901/minecraft-artificial-intelligence-smarter/","name":"How Minecraft Can Make Artificial Intelligence Even Smarter"}}]}] ```