Rockstar Games predicts that artificial intelligence will not create unemployment

Artificial intelligence and its use in game development has become a huge topic of discussion in the industry. While many creators worry about job security, gamers fear this technology could strip humanity out of games. On the other hand, some executives are excited about the potential of artificial intelligence to make things faster and cheaper.

Take-Two, the parent company of GTA 6 producer Rockstar Games and 2K publisher Take-Two, will probably continue to use this technology. Speaking at TD Cowen’s 52nd Annual Technology, Media and Telecom Conference earlier this week, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick stated that generative artificial intelligence could enable the company’s developers to do many jobs more efficiently. He stated that this way, developers can focus on other work, which will probably be costly and time-consuming.

Comments about efficiency may not raise much hope among the developers who actually create Take-Two’s games. Similar phrases are often used by managers when announcing layoffs and emphasizing efficiency and lean workplaces. Take-Two also recently announced it was laying off nearly 600 people and shutting down the teams developing Olli Olli World and Kerbal Space Program 2.

Despite these concerns, Zelnick continues to argue that artificial intelligence will not negatively impact employment. “I don’t think generative AI will reduce employment, that’s crazy,” he says. “It’s crazy, actually. It’s not going to make people redundant. It’s just going to change the nature of some jobs, and that’s a good thing.” But it remains unclear how the technology will change the “nature of things,” especially given that most forms of generative AI use pre-existing data to produce the sound, images, or text that users want.

Still, many reports detail how AI is and has already impacted business. Time will tell, but creators across the industry don’t have high hopes for this technology. Names such as Hideo Kojima, Cyberpunk 2077’s lead mission designer, and Red Dead Redemption 2 player express their concerns.