From : Newscientist.com

A virtual child controlled by artificially intelligent software has passed a cognitive test regarded as a major milestone in human development. It could lead to smarter computer games able to predict human players’ state of mind.

Children typically master the “false belief test” at age 4 or 5. It tests their ability to realise that the beliefs of others can differ from their own, and from reality.
“Today’s characters have no genuine autonomy or mental picture of who you are,”. He [Selmer Bringsjord] aims to change that with future games and virtual worlds populated by genuinely intelligent computer characters able to predict and understand players actions and motives.

Bringsjord’s colleague Andrew Shilliday adds that their work will have applications outside of gaming. For example, search engines able to reason about the beliefs of a user might allow them to better understand their search queries.

John Laird, a researcher in computer games and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, is not overly impressed. “It’s not that challenging to get an AI system to do theory of mind,” he says.

But Bringsjord points out his is the first computer character to achieve theory of mind, something necessary if characters are to become smarter, better opponents and collaborators. His team are now attempting to make characters that can lie, which also requires reasoning about other people’s mental states.