Tencent Building An Esports Hotel Run By AI That's Always Watching

We all used to laugh when sci-fi films warned us about technology taking over the world, but it turns out that it’s not much of a laughing matter anymore. A few weeks ago, a Google engineer was fired after claiming that an AI chatbot had “become sentient.” Following this, Amazon announced plans for Alexa to be able to mimic your dead relative’s voices. If that’s not creepy enough, Tencent has entered the chat with their latest project.

Speaking of robots, one fan recreated Portal 2’s Wheatley in real life. Take a look below.

Tencent is teaming up with Ouyu Technology to create an esports hotel that’s run by an AI who’s always watching. You heard me right. Located in Hangzhou, China, an AI known as VEEGY will be overseeing the running of the hotel.

As reported by PC Gamer, guests will be able to enter esports talent contests and access up-to-date esports team rankings via VEEGY. The AI will also be able to provide “intelligent” viewing recommendations and is available to access in every single hotel room.

VEEGY can even help you decide which of the hotel’s five themed room types you should opt for. Each theme corresponds to a different esports league, and you can discuss with VEEGY which hardware you’d like your room to have, from gaming PCs to mobile devices.

Unlike other esports hotels across Asia, Tencent and Ouyu Technology hope to break down the barrier between esports content and hotel atmosphere. If you want to spend a night under VEEGY’s watchful eye, the hotel opens later this month.