Advancing AI: Highlights from February

Sony AI In Focus: February 2025

At Sony AI, every month brings new advancements that push the boundaries of artificial intelligence. February has been a month of innovation, from groundbreaking research at the AAAI Conference to exciting commendations for our team. We are sharing more information about our participation in The Gran Turismo World Series where we participated in a GT Sophy exhibition event. At the event we demonstrated how machine intelligence can enhance human racing strategy in motorsport. We’ve also been preparing for two exciting panels next month at South by Southwest (SXSW).

Our work continues to drive progress in machine learning, robotics, and AI-human collaboration, with research that spans localization, emotional voice synthesis, and more.

Latest Research

Sony AI is leading the way in AI-driven translation and voice synthesis, tackling challenges in localization and emotional voice conversion.

AAAI 2025

Our researchers are presenting two significant papers at AAAI 2025:

• CASAT (Context And Style Aware Translation) introduces a neural machine translation (NMT) framework designed to preserve cultural nuances and emotional depth when translating entertainment content into Indian languages. By incorporating context-awareness and stylistic adaptation, CASAT ensures that translated content retains the richness of the original language, making media localization more immersive and accessible.
• EmoReg is a diffusion-based emotional voice conversion framework that allows AI-generated speech to convey precise emotional intensity. This research marks a major step toward making AI-driven dubbing, audiobooks, and voice assistants more lifelike and expressive, overcoming the limitations of existing text-to-speech models.

Read the blog post here to learn more.

Sony AI Global Events

This month, we reflected on Sony AI’s presence at recent major events: the 2024 Race Together Exhibition and the aforementioned AAAI 2025.

GT Sophy at the 2024 Race Together Exhibition

Sony AI continues to redefine the role of AI in motorsport through GT Sophy, a reinforcement learning-based AI that collaborates with human drivers to enhance racing performance in Gran Turismo™ 7 (GT7) PlayStation® racing simulation game, for the PS5™ console. At the recent Race Together Exhibition, GT Sophy demonstrated its advanced responsivness by managing tire wear, optimizing pit stops, and refining fuel efficiency strategies.

GT Sophy showcased real-time learning and responsiveness, proving how AI can assist human racers in making better tactical decisions on the track. This exhibition underscored the potential for AI-human teamwork to drive innovation in competitive racing.

Want to learn more, dive into recent research from the team that showcases how the work on GT Sophy is improving the state of the art in reinforcement learning: A Super-human Vision-based Reinforcement Learning Agent for Autonomous Racing in Gran Turismo – Sony AI

TUM Think Tank Workshop

Lorenzo Servadei, Head of AI for Chip Design at Sony AI, has been actively involved as both a speaker and co-organizer at The Semiconductor Industry: Ethics, Innovation, and Sustainability, a series of two events initiated by the TUM Think Tank. This groundbreaking event was the first of its kind to foster a dialogue connecting academia, politics, and industry, highlighting the intersection of technological advancement, ethical considerations, and sustainability in the semiconductor sector.

The event brought together key representatives from the German government and the Bavarian government, alongside industry leaders from companies such as Infineon Technologies AG, PwC, Sony and others. These stakeholders engaged in discussions on the evolving role of semiconductors in a rapidly changing global landscape.

During his talk, Lorenzo emphasized the transformative role of AI in the semiconductor industry, not only as a driver of innovation but also as a key enabler of more efficient and sustainable chip design and manufacturing processes. He highlighted how AI-driven algorithms can optimize resource utilization, reduce waste, and contribute to greener, more energy-efficient semiconductor production. Learn more from the TUM Think Tank from their recent post on LinkedIn about the event.

AAAI 2025

Sony AI’s contributions to AAAI 2025 highlight new methodologies in AI for voice synthesis and localization. The research being presented is designed to push AI beyond its traditional applications, making it more adaptable for global audiences and media industries.

Researcher Spotlight

This month, we recognize Pete Wurman, Deputy President of Sony AI and the leader of the Gaming and Interactive Agents Flagship. Wurman has been instrumental in developing Gran Turismo Sophy (GT Sophy) and pioneering AI research that enhances game interactivity and human-AI collaboration.

With over 50 academic papers, 60 patents, and numerous industry accolades, Wurman’s career spans multiple AI disciplines, from robotics to reinforcement learning. Before joining Sony AI, he co-founded Kiva Systems, the groundbreaking robotics company that revolutionized warehouse automation before being acquired by Amazon.

At Sony AI, Wurman has focused on elevating AI’s role in gaming, helping to develop GT Sophy—a reinforcement learning-based AI that competes at the highest level of racing while maintaining sportsmanship, adaptability, and fairness. Most recently, GT Sophy showcased new strategic racing behaviors at the Gran Turismo World Series World Finals in Amsterdam, demonstrating how AI can enhance the motorsport experience.

Wurman’s vision for AI extends beyond racing. His team is exploring how AI can make video games more immersive, challenging, and dynamic by creating non-player characters (NPCs) that behave more like human players. He sees gaming as a powerful testbed for AI research, with applications that can eventually extend into robotics, real-world simulations, and interactive storytelling.

Key Contributions:

• Leader of Sony AI’s Gaming and Interactive Agents Flagship
• Co-founder of Kiva Systems, now Amazon Robotics
• IEEE Fellow, AAAI Fellow, and National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee
• Developed GT Sophy, the world’s first AI to beat top-ranked human drivers in Gran Turismo
• Advancing research in AI-driven gaming experiences and human-AI collaboration

Read More About Pete Wurman’s AI Journey:
Sights on AI: Pete Wurman Discusses Career in AI and How the Technology is Evolving the Gaming Landscape

Sony AI in the News

Sony AI Contributes to World Economic Forum Report on AI in Media, Entertainment, and Sport

Sony AI’s President, Michael Spranger, was a contributor to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2025 white paper, "Artificial Intelligence in Media, Entertainment, and Sport." Developed in collaboration with Accenture, the report explores AI’s expanding role in content creation, distribution, and audience engagement while addressing governance and ethical challenges.

Read the Full Report: Artificial Intelligence in Media, Entertainment and Sport

Lingjuan Lyu named to “AI's 10 to Watch” List

Lingjuan Lyu, Head of Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning (PPML) at Sony AI, was included in IEEE Intelligent Systems’ “AI’s 10 to Watch” list. The biennial award, established in 2006, recognizes 10 rising stars for their early career accomplishments in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

Read the Article: 2024 Recipients of AI’s 10 to Watch

Behind the Scenes

Sony AI is opening the doors to its Research Vault, a brand-new YouTube series offering a deep dive into our latest advancements in artificial intelligence. This series provides an exclusive look at how our researchers are tackling some of AI’s biggest challenges.

In the debut episode, we explore COALA, Sony AI’s federated learning platform that balances data privacy with cutting-edge machine learning. COALA supports over 15 computer vision tasks and incorporates innovative approaches like multi-task learning, semi-supervised learning, and continual learning. By enabling AI to learn without centralizing sensitive data, COALA is shaping the future of privacy-preserving AI.

Watch the full episode and explore the research:

What's Next for Sony AI

As we move into March, Sony AI remains focused on advancing research and driving innovation at major global events. We are preparing for SXSW 2025, where our researchers will be featured in two key discussions exploring AI’s role in creative fields and robotics:

• "Pushing Creativity to New Bounds" – March 10, 2025
  Peter Stone will join a panel of experts at Hilton Austin Downtown to explore how advanced robotics is reshaping creativity across disciplines such as music, art, and comedy. The discussion will also touch on the ethical implications of AI-driven creativity and the importance of meaningful human-AI collaboration. Learn more.

• "Can Humans and AI Collaborate to Extend Creativity?" – March 12, 2025
  Michael Spranger will join Reuters journalist Dawn Chmielewski in a fireside chat at the Austin Convention Center to discuss the delicate balance between human creativity and AI assistance. This session will focus on how AI can enhance creative expression while ensuring that artistic integrity remains intact. Learn more.