Skyrim mod lets you chat to NPCs using ChatGPT

Players just can’t seem to escape the endless replayability of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which now has AI that can speak and remember for itself.

Skyrim’s vast and dedicated modding community never fails to keep Bethesda’s critically-acclaimed title fresh, even over a decade since its release. Talented modders have created new items, quests, areas and much more, allowing players to expand their world and stories for countless more hours of fun.

Take a look at some of the funniest wins and fails from Skyrim below.

Bethesda has even supported this community through several re-releases of the game, allowing players to access a variety of compatible Nexus mods on PC as well as consoles.

Now, one modder named Art of the Machine has granted NPCs the power to communicate and interact with the player like never before, using ChatGPT. Art of the Machine shared their project through a YouTube video, showcasing some of the cool stuff the mod can do.

Using text-to-speech software, the player can ask the AI questions in the game, and have them respond (provided that it’s within their knowledge). For example, players can ask the shopkeepers what time they close for the night, with the AI knowing the times and being able to inform the player that they’ll be closing soon. They can also react to in-game items, telling the player a little bit of information about the weapon, such as what it’s capable of doing.

A very basic memory system is also being developed for the mod, which will allow the AI to remember previous conversations or events, hopefully leading to some more interesting interactions further down the line.

It’s still a work in progress, and the voices themselves still sound very artificial given that there’s no real voice actor supplying the lines, but with a bit of refinement it could make Skyrim more immersive than it’s ever been before. Nevertheless, in its current state, it’s still incredibly impressive, and as AI generation continues to improve, it’s likely that technology similar to this will be implemented into future game design.

Fans are still patiently waiting for The Elder Scrolls VI, so thankfully, mods like these can keep Skyrim interesting until Bethesda is ready to share details on the upcoming sequel.