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If there is one thing tech companies have been good at the past year, it is throwing AI at us from every direction, regardless of whether we want it. Sony clearly doesn’t want to be left behind on the trend and has spent valuable time and money to create interactive avatars of famous PlayStation characters, with Aloy from the Horizon series the first to get a jittery, unsettling AI version for fans to talk to.

The news comes from an anonymous user on YouTube who shared an internal video from Sony’s PlayStation group with The Verge. The video showed Aloy from Horizon Forbidden West seemingly interacting with the user, answering simple questions. While the video was quickly removed from YouTube due to a copyright claim, nothing is really gone once it is online and you can still find clips circulating on social media if you want to see what Aloy would be like if you sucked all her personality from her voice and facial expressions.

We’re going to ignore the irony of Sony creating an AI version of a character from a series that is largely about how artificial intelligence can destroy the world if left unchecked and focus on the implications of this leak. If nothing else, this technology shows that, despite what developers might think, generative AI is nowhere near close to being able to replace voice actors, who are currently striking many major gaming studios to ensure protections against their likenesses or performances being used in AI without their permission.

You know, exactly what Sony is apparently trying to do to Ashley Burch, who has played Aloy since her first appearance in Horizon Zero Dawn.

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
• Popverse Picks: The best Assassin's Creed protagonists
• How to play every GTA game in order
• Why the GTA 6 budget isn't as crazy as you think
• The Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man crossover set wouldn't exist without the Spider-Verse

And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.