Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 919: Let Me Take This Call First

There had been some early breakthroughs in autonomous driving, with a few new car companies pushing it forward—but widespread application was still a long way off.

Oh right—Ayano suddenly remembered that her alma mater, Stanford University, had once invited her to visit a digital research lab. They wanted to show her a match where an AI competed against a top human StarCraft player.

In the end, the human won—a 14-year-old genius from South Korea. If it weren't for age restrictions barring him from official international tournaments, he might have instantly become the world's #1 StarCraft player.

South Koreans really did have an intense passion for StarCraft, and that obsession had produced several prodigies over the years.

Of course, their success wasn't just due to player enthusiasm—their government had long supported the industry. And behind the scenes, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had quietly played a major role in supporting StarCraft's global operation.

Many of the game's top tournaments were handed over to Korean organizations for management, with Gamestar only collecting licensing fees.

Being able to sit back while another country promoted your game? That was something only Gamestar could pull off.

But that was a tangent. Back to AI.

Ayano vividly recalled that, even though the human won, the boy had to put in serious effort. At one point, he nearly believed he was going to lose.

That match had taken place more than a year ago.

She remembered how the lab's lead researcher had been thrilled—even in defeat. They had promised that once their next-generation AI was complete, it would dominate StarCraft and crush all human players.

The researcher had estimated the next version would take two years to fully train—not due to technical limits, since the AI system itself was already mostly complete, but because the learning and optimization process would take time.

They needed to raise a "monster."

Ayano had almost forgotten about that encounter—until Takayuki's mention of AI brought it all back.

"But... where do we even start?" she murmured, feeling slightly lost. Maybe she should reach out to that Stanford lab?

While she pondered, Takayuki spoke up: "Are there AI research teams at Stanford or Boston University? We can invest in them directly. I know most of you might not understand yet how AI can integrate into game design, but if someone can just make me a working demo, I think you'll all get it."

Everyone exchanged uncertain glances.

They were game developers—AI still felt like a distant concept.

Maybe in the future, this new discipline would eventually merge with gaming. But for now, they were still stuck in traditional development paradigms.

Takayuki looked at Ayano. "Can you reach out to a team like that? A top American university must have one."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Ayano nodded. "Yes, actually—I happen to know a group working on AI. I came across them by chance."

"Perfect! Get in touch with them as soon as possible."

"Alright."

Ayano still wasn't quite sure how AI and games could be combined—but this was Takayuki's request.

He was the company's top executive. And more importantly, her husband.

...

In the United States, inside a private building just outside Silicon Valley, dozens of young people were in the middle of a heated discussion.

It was about AI learning—its current progress and the path forward.

Some believed the AI had reached the computational limit and it was time to reveal their results.

Others argued that it wasn't ready yet—it needed more time.

"Our funding's running low. Stanford didn't back us just to beat StarCraft pros with AI."

"But our StarCraft AI 2.0 still isn't perfect. It's got small flaws—exploitable loopholes."

"We could launch while continuing to train it. At least that would show the school we're making progress. Otherwise, we might lose everything."

Among the team were dreamers, realists, and visionaries. But they all shared one goal.

Now they were split—release a not-quite-ready AI to buy time, or hold off until it reached their ideal vision?

"Professor, please decide. We'll go with whatever you say."

All eyes turned to a man in his fifties.

Caught in the spotlight, the professor froze. He really didn't know what to choose.

"I..."

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Ring ring—

Ring ring—

The professor, like grabbing onto a lifeline, quickly said, "Excuse me, let me take this call!"