Why is Google making two robots play endless table tennis? The reason reveals the future of AI

At a lab south of London, two robotic arms been playing table tennis non-stop, pushing each other to new limits and quietly hinting at the future of artificial intelligence in the real world. Unlike the legendary Wimbledon marathon where humans finally called it quits, these robots seem content to keep going, always learning, never truly finished.

Training robots, one rally at a time
Google DeepMind’s project started as a hunt for better ways to train robots to handle real-world complexity. After all, it isn’t enough for a robot to just lift a box if it cannot adjust to unexpected changes or interact with people around it.