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Here’s the thing, though.
AI isn’t going away, and its use is only going to increase.
Everyone assumed that content like this was AI-generated, and at long last, Activision has been FORCED to admit it.
I can already feel the pitchforks poking me from behind.
I’m not defending AI versus paying a talented designer to create great content.
Especially given how much money they’re rinsing out of our pockets through the course of a year.
Without this forced disclosure, I’m not slightly convinced that Activision would have confessed to using AI in Black Ops 6.
This isn’t a right versus wrong, good versus evil.
Unless forced, Activision wouldn’t have said a damn thing.
It also doesn’t paint a happy picture of the future of gaming.
Xbox and its own studios has seen its fair share of redundancies in recent times.
Activision certainly doesn’t hate money.
So, good on Steam.
But bad on everyone else.
Asking ChatGPT to make something for a Call of Duty Calling Card is easy, but it doesn’t mean it should make it into a game.
AI is a contentious issue, not just in gaming.
Some love it, but many more loathe it.
Future PLC, the owner of Windows Central, has anAI policy that anyone is free to read.
AI isn’t why I wouldn’t play this game, but Weeb Store Simulator from the current Steam Next Fest uses plenty of it.
It’s also why you’ve got the option to trust our content.
If we’re found using AI to write posts, we won’t have a job.
Had Steam not forced its game developers to fess up, how many of them would?
inZOI is an ambitious sounding title that seems to be using AI in some interesting, and potentially beneficial ways.
I have a background in retail and customer service, and there’s one thing I can convincingly say.
Deceive your customers and they won’t be your customers for much longer.
We also need to see similar policies applied toeverystorefront that sells video games.
AI is what could make Free Guy become a reality in our games.
Absolutely looking at you there, Xbox.
Xbox itself, which includes Activision,announced over 2,500 job losses just last year.
I said it’s here to stay, not that it has to be adored.
As an example, the image above shows me asking ChatGPT to create something Call of Duty-inspired.
But that doesn’t mean it should be used in a multi-billion dollar video game franchise.
That’s simply not acceptable.
We all know the response to that.
In some games, in light of job losses, it’s insulting.
Will it make AI ‘slop’ more widespread?
Lower down the totem pole, though, smaller developers may not.
It’s already starting, too.
Just look at these examples from Steam Next Fest.
I haven’t played any of these, so I can’t comment on their quality.
But all listed use AI for assets, voice, music, or combinations of them.
They could be quite good.
But the simulator category is already starting to get overrun with AI-produced content.
AI doesn’t necessarily have to mean a game isn’t worth playing.
But it does raise the question of quality going forward.
Video games are supposed to be an experience.
Without quality put into the art and narrative, they shouldn’t really be worth our time.
It’s not all bad…
With the bad, there is always some good.
Upcoming title, inZOI, for example, has fairly significant AI tools built-in.
In this case, I’m actually curious to see how it plays out.
The really short version is that inZOI is kind of like The Sims, or it seems to be.
inZOI, on the other hand, is doing it right.
In this jot down of game, AI feels like a natural fit.
For all the best scriptwriting in the world, a script is still a script.
The end result needs to be a responsible approach.
AI has the potential to make significant advancements in what our video games become, but it requires responsibility.
There is, ultimately, no substitute for human talent.
No machine should be allowed to replace that.
