Amid the recent wave of renewed interest in AI technology, several game companies have recently addressed what this means for them and their businesses. Count EA among them now, as CEO Andrew Wilson and COO Laura Miele mention the future of gaming, AI and EA on the company Q4 earnings call.
In response to a question about AI, Wilson began by saying that the games industry will likely be “one of the biggest beneficiaries of AI.” He describes the AI as an “additional” to EA’s teams, as well as a way of allowing players to create content within EA’s world.
However, he also addresses some concerns about AI in a way… not the most reassuring way.
“The fear of workforce displacement is something we’ve read about and talked about a lot,” says Wilson. “And when we think about every revolution during the time from the agricultural revolution to the industrial revolution and beyond, there was a short-lived workforce shift, and then a significant increase in opportunities for the workforce over the longer term.Our hope is that AI represents the same opportunity and we are working very closely within our company to ensure it. that our employees benefit in that way and really enable them to do more.”
Wilson also addressed other concerns, noting that issues around ownership of AI output are not a concern for EA given the over 40 years of internal data and proprietary content that AI has. can learn. He also commented on concerns about the use of AI by bad actors, promising that EA will work with others in the industry as well as governments and regulators to introduce AI legislation to protect consumers. use.
At this point, Wilson turned to Miele, who reiterated some of Wilson’s views, adding that EA’s partnerships also put the company in a strong position in data-driven AI training. data from third parties such as La Liga.
Then, Miele thought about the many possibilities of using AI in live service games.
“So in game development you’d imagine the speed of the content, the creative iteration would greatly benefit from really smart content engines. Andrew mentioned to creators’ content, lifelike animations, real-time text-to-speech for players, and what that will mean for them and the experiences they have. I think in terms of large-scale live game support, there will be some really cool visuals, problem detection, economic models that we’ll be able to apply as we continue to develop developing these connected ecosystems. So we’re pretty optimistic, excited and inspired about this new wave of AI.”
EA CEO also talked about future Apex Legends content crossover, and Andrew Wilson said Microsoft’s potential acquisition of Activision Blizzard is “doesn’t really matter” for EA. For more on the topic of AI, IGN recently organize AI Week articles and video content about nascent technology.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
