A deep dive into zero-player games (ZPGs): self-running simulations that remove the human player. We map four archetypes—from setup-only models like Life to AI-vs-AI battles, solved games, and generative agents—and explore what they reveal about AI, autonomy, and simulating minds. Drawing on Stanford HAI’s work, Thermodome’s Markov NPC, real-time hermeneutics, and the idea of the “theory of the system,” we ask what it means to delegate agency, intention, and aesthetics to machines—and whether AI-made outputs are art or math. A thoughtful exploration of how these systems shift us from play to observation.

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