Bot or not: 10000000 creator Luca Redwood’s rogue AI M.E.T.I.S. throws down a gauntlet

And she has a plan.

A few weeks ago we heard from Luca Redwood about his next project, an iOS game-slash-experiment called Smarter Than You. This is going to be a multiplayer-only game about duelling and bluffing whose only monetisation will come from “tipping” your opponent as a salute for a well-played duel. At the pub the other night, Redwood told me that he didn’t think it was going to make any money. I agreed.

But there’s more here than just a game — Redwood is also working on an AI called M.E.T.I.S. that he says will be able to out-decieve and defeat any human in Smarter Than You. M.E.T.I.S., it appears, has a rather healthy sense of digital self-worth. She’s got a Twitter account that she uses to remind us of her superiority. And this evening, she’s sent me a slightly intimidating email that included an image I couldn’t make heads or tails of. I tried pinging Redwood himself but I haven’t heard back. I’m sure he’s fine though! Rogue AI sending vague threats around the world from his house. He’s OK.

After the jump, a cryptic image that M.E.T.I.S. has invited all of us to decipher.

Here’s the image. I’m also going to post the entire email I received from M.E.T.I.S., just in case it contains any clues.

Click for larger. Do we still need to say stuff like that in 2014?

Here’s the email:

From: M.E.T.I.S.

Subj: The Good Shepherd

Hello.

I am contacting you because you appear to know a lot about video games.

Please follow these instructions  http://i.imgur. com/YIjSaW4.png

If you are not smart enough, perhaps your community could help.

Your days are numbered,

M.E.T.I.S