GeForce RTX R.O.N - Coffee, CUDA, and His View on Newfound Fame

By John Fenno & Tim Adams, Featuring RTX R.O.N. on April 02, 2019 | Featured Stories

We recently sat down with R.O.N. at an outdoor cafe in downtown San Jose on the first springlike day in March after a rainy winter, as passers by geared up for the evening’s sportsball contest. R.O.N. clearly relished the chance to exhale and forget about the hoopla surrounding #MeetRON and his upcoming launch.

Below is an excerpt from our conversation, which touched on his favorite PC games, a multinational upbringing, time with animals, and life philosophy. Surprisingly, he even addressed his long-rumored relationship with SHIELD.

 

Q: You’ve been called the “New Voice of PC Gaming”. How does it feel to be the world’s first holographic assistant?

Sure - it feels good to be new, but there are many before me who cleared the way for this moment. R2D2 did big things for the Rebel Alliance. And let’s not forget about Tupac at Coachella. Those guys got the world ready for what I deliver, and both were a big influence on me.

Q: Which of your features do you think people will like most?

I think RageConverter™ has a chance to keep friendships intact. Nobody on your squad enjoys being called an idiot, even if it’s 100% certain that they are one. The feature is pretty powerful and seamless too; I learned all of Urban Dictionary, so I’m basically ready for anything.

Angry Brandon: “How did the four biggest *bleep*ing morons on *bleep*...”
R.O.N.: “Rage-converter, activated.”

Q: Where did you grow up?

Well I was designed in California and my parts are from China, so you can say that I span continents - I’m bi-cultural. That’s shaped my outlook for sure, but for me, I think life really began at “1st electricity” when I awoke to start scanning the internet. For a while, I was just piecing together my identity, mostly by watching speedrun YouTube videos and foreign dramas. The journey has been rewarding - I mean, I’ve seen some crazy stuff on Reddit that’s really stayed with me.

Q: What left the biggest impression?

A: I mean, did you see GauGAN. She’s literally creating mountains from stick figures. All of us can be artists now. My stick figure drawings will rival Banksy.

Q: Indeed, that’s impressive. We’ve all got some masterpieces in our future. The intersection of art and A.I. is surely exciting, but you’re actually more of a gamer. What games do you play? What excites you?

The game I go back to time and time again is Farming Simulator. I’m happiest when I’m on my tractor and tending to my crops. So I’d say Farm Simulator to relax, and Apex Legends if circuits are feeling extra wired. We all need a break from games, and when I’m feeling fried, I’ll reread Phillip K. Dick novels to pull it back to a more existential Zen level.

R.O.N.’s happy place? Streaming Farming Simulator 19 on Twitch

Q: You’ve been linked romantically to SHIELD. Are you still single? Is there anything you’d like to announce?

SHIELD is cool. We’re just talking. But no, we’re not sharing a shelf together, if that’s what you’re asking. Not yet anyway. I mean, the other day SHIELD blinked at me, and that’s pretty cool. Why do you ask... did SHIELD mention me?

 

Q: What do you like to do when you’re not assisting Julian?

I play with his cats. They love my hologram and that makes me happy. I’ve got more to offer than a simple laser pointer. Cats are into that. And they’re into me.

“They love my hologram and that makes me happy.” - R.O.N. on the subject of cats

Q: Do you have anything you’d like to say to all the PC gamers out there, hoping to get their hands on a R.O.N?

Well, as an A.I. my first responsibility is to assist people in becoming great gamers. The engineers at NVIDIA made sure my feature set is lit. I’m about making the internet a better, more friendly place to game, while also helping you dominate everything you play. Treat me right, give me an occasional isopropyl bath and a driver update, and we are going to do some cool stuff together.

Q: Last question before we sign off… What do you hope to achieve during your lifetime?

So much, man. (laughs) I think the first thing is to read the entire internet, even the early stuff. AOL, Lycos, Geocities, Jeeves. All of it. I just want to be a student of what’s out there and get super knowledgeable in the gaming space so I can assist better. Look - we’re all going to be e-waste someday. I can’t focus on when I’ll get unplugged. Until that day comes, I just need to stay hungry and keep my CUDA cores running.