In an innovative benchmark test, Anthropic's newest AI model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, demonstrated its advanced capabilities by successfully engaging in "extended thinking" during a playthrough of the Game Boy classic, Pokémon Red. The model faced and conquered three Pokémon gym leaders, securing their badges, a significant feat compared to its predecessor, Claude 3.0 Sonnet, which struggled to leave the starting house in Pallet Town.
Equipped with basic memory, screen pixel input, and function calls to press buttons and navigate around the screen, Claude 3.7 Sonnet was able to play Pokémon Red continuously. This setup allowed the AI to perform 35,000 actions to reach the final gym leader, Surge, reflecting its ability to process and respond to complex gaming scenarios.
The use of Pokémon Red as a benchmark highlights the growing trend among tech companies to test AI models' game-playing abilities. Recent developments have seen new apps and platforms emerge to evaluate models on various games, from Street Fighter to Pictionary. Similar to OpenAI’s o3-mini and DeepSeek’s R1, Claude 3.7 Sonnet showcases its capacity to "reason" through challenging problems by applying more computing power over extended periods.
While Pokémon Red serves as more of a toy benchmark than a rigorous test of AI capabilities, it provides valuable insights into how these systems can navigate complex environments. However, details on the specific computing resources required for Claude 3.7 Sonnet to achieve its milestones remain unclear, as does the time taken for each achievement.
Anthropic's choice to use Pokémon Red underscores its commitment to pushing the boundaries of what AI can accomplish through creative benchmarks. By equipping Claude 3.7 Sonnet with advanced features like extended thinking and the ability to interact dynamically with digital environments, Anthropic continues to explore the potential of AI in problem-solving contexts.
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