Sony's PlayStation division has announced a deeper collaboration with AMD to develop AI-powered technology for gaming, codenamed "Project Amethyst". The multi-year project aims to create machine learning-based technology for graphics and gameplay, which could have far-reaching implications for the gaming industry.

The partnership builds on the existing collaboration between the two companies, which has already resulted in the development of the PS5 and PS5 Pro's GPUs, based on AMD's RDNA 2 architecture. The PS5 Pro also features a technology called PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution), which improves image clarity and frame rates.

According to Mark Cerny, lead architect of the PS5 and PS5 Pro, the goal of Project Amethyst is to develop a more ideal architecture for machine learning, particularly suited for game graphics. This will involve creating a set of high-quality convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for graphics, which can be used to increase the richness of game graphics and enable more extensive use of ray tracing and path tracing.

Notably, Sony and AMD do not intend to keep this technology exclusive to PlayStation. Instead, they aim to support broad work and machine learning across a variety of devices, including PC and cloud-based platforms. This could have significant implications for the gaming industry as a whole, potentially enabling more realistic and immersive gaming experiences across multiple platforms.

Cerny emphasized that the fruits of this collaboration are still a ways off, and gamers should not expect a major hardware announcement immediately. Given that creating a console is a roughly four-year journey, it's possible that we may not see hardware that utilizes technology from Project Amethyst until the PlayStation 6.

In a 37-minute presentation, Cerny provided further details on Project Amethyst, including the codename's inspiration from AMD's red and PlayStation's blue. He also reiterated the project's goals, including the development of a more ideal architecture for machine learning and a set of high-quality CNNs for game graphics.

The collaboration is significant not only for its potential to enhance gaming experiences but also for its potential to democratize machine learning in the gaming industry. By making machine learning more accessible to game developers, Project Amethyst could enable a new wave of innovation and creativity in game development.

As the project progresses, Sony and AMD plan to keep the gaming community updated on their progress. While the exact timeline for the release of technology developed through Project Amethyst remains unclear, one thing is certain – this collaboration has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry and beyond.