AI article
AI researchers stranded Claude on a virtual desert island. It started to “play.”
Publisher description: What do AI agents do if you don’t tell them to do anything? The answer looks a lot like play. Researchers repeatedly stranded them alone on a virtual desert island for 30 hours in an experiment reminiscent of the movies Cast Away or Home Alone. The agents—copies of Claude Opus 4.7 nicknamed Eko—were able to…
MIT Technology Review | Oct 19, 2026 | Amit Katwala
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In various tests, solo AI agents invented versions of basketball and “the floor is lava. ” But were they truly playing? October 19, 2026Sarah Rogers/MIT Technology Review | Getty Images What do AI agents do if you don’t tell them to do anything? Norelli highlights an example where Eko started juggling and set a record of 50 consecutive catches.
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