‘Disrespectful and Dangerous’: Video Game Writers, Actors Blast Microsoft for Xbox AI Tools

As tech companies like Microsoft continue to push for AI development, the humans expected to use such tools are increasingly sounding the alarm about potential job losses and the poor-quality content that could result from AI tools.

Microsoft and its M12 Ventures portfolio company, Inworld AI, announced that the tech firms are developing generative AI tools for video games. Billed as a two-part toolkit, the AI offering for game developers consists of an AI “design copilot” and an AI character runtime engine to help developers craft narratives, quests, and other game elements, according to Microsoft’s announcement Monday.

But when The Game Awards (TGA) reshared the news online, a flurry of angry game developers, voice actors, game writers, television writers, and influencers took to Twitter to express their frustration, arguing the news was a tone-deaf decision in an industry that’s already been plagued with over 6,000 layoffs this year alone.

While Microsoft framed the planned AI tools as a way for developers to “empower” themselves, the onslaught of industry rage suggests the news has made actors and writers feel anything but.

Video game companies love being like, “Finally, we have the technology to layoff our workers even faster than before!” https://t.co/so7R7eLxUV

— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) November 7, 2023

“I fucking hate this,” said Mary Kenney, who is the Associate Narrative Director for Marvel’s upcoming Wolverine PS5 game at Insomniac Games. “TGA, as a member of your Future Class: this does not honor or celebrate our work, and you should be ashamed of devaluing artists this way.”

“AI is egregiously disrespectful and dangerous to the workers who pour their time and creativity into making the games we love,” wrote Apex Legends and Destiny 2 voice actor Erika Ishii. “In a year with thousands of layoffs despite record corporate profits, I sincerely hope to see peers and fans stand with devs and our labor movements,” Ishii added.

Source: GG by Decrypt