Take-Two CEO Proclaims That AI Can't Make Games Like Grand Theft Auto
While speaking at CNBC’s Technology Executive Council Summit, Zelnick shared that AI isn’t yet capable of producing the work necessary to accompany the release of a game like Grand Theft Auto. “Let’s say there were no constraints [on AI]. Could we push a button tomorrow and create an equivalent to the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ marketing plan?” he posited to attendees in the audience. “The answer is no.”
Additionally, Zelnick doesn’t look as if he’s in any hurry to use AI to replace the talented game developers that play an instrumental role in the publisher’s hit franchises. “I am of the view that you wouldn’t end up with anything very good. You end up with something pretty derivative.” He would later add that it’s because “there is no creativity that can exist by definition in any AI model, because it is data-driven.”
But is Zelnick correct in this broad, sweeping statement?
There is another concern beyond the limitations on current AI models, though. Zelnick points out that anything created using an AI model won’t receive the same copyright protections as something created by a human. As a company that relies on protecting and fostering its successful IP portfolio, this would be a deal-breaker.
Moreover, the Take Two CEO believes that companies should be mindful of not trampling on others’ copyrights, which might be difficult because AI models are often trained on copyrighted materials.
Zelnick’s comments illustrate that the present and foreseeable future for AI in game development will likely be as a tool to enhance the game-making process, rather than a wholesale replacement of the people who make our favorite blockbuster titles.
