Take-Two's former AI guy is, in a twist, skeptical about AI now: 'The guy should be selling you the gold if he's actually got the gold'

Take-Two Interactive, a major publisher behind studios like Rockstar and Gearbox, once employed an AI specialist, only to have him and several others in his team laid off shortly after he began his role. Previously a data scientist at Zynga, Dicken became the director of applied AI at Take-Two in 2019, a time when generative AI and large language model (LLM) technology were still in their early stages.

Despite his background and the pivotal role he played in a major video game publisher, Dicken now expresses skepticism towards AI.

In an interview from The Side Quest, Dicken points to the public's perception of AI in gaming, noting that many creatives view its use as a disregard for intentionality and authorial intent. This sentiment is widespread among Western audiences, particularly in North America and Europe, while Asian audiences seem more accepting. However, Dicken remains uncertain about the extent to which this sentiment is driven by a mainstream concern or a vocal minority.

From his perspective, Dicken is more skeptical about how AI is integrated into game development. He argues that adding more options through AI to dialogue trees doesn't necessarily improve gameplay. Many AI-generated dialogue systems haven't gained traction because more options don't always equate to a better experience. Additionally, the promised productivity gains, especially in coding, are debatable.

While individuals may claim that AI has increased their output by 100 times, quantifying these claims objectively is difficult, as few people are willing to run case studies to prove or disprove the impact.

Dicken is also critical of the true believer mentality surrounding AI. He criticizes proponents who treat AI as a silver bullet, dismissing concerns as mere FOMO (fear of missing out). He compares this to the current AI hype, suggesting that if AI were genuinely transformative, companies would be protective of their technology, akin to guarding their most valuable assets.

Instead, he sees a gold rush mentality, with companies rushing to adopt AI without proper safeguards, leading to inflated token prices and vendor lock-in, reminiscent of the Unity price hike debacle.

Despite these concerns, Dicken acknowledges that AI will likely bring long-term changes to the gaming industry. However, he believes these changes won't be as seismic as some proponents suggest. Instead, he emphasizes the importance of using the right tool for the job, rather than indiscriminately integrating AI-generated content into existing genres or game types.

Dicken stresses that the fundamental thesis of a game must remain intact, and any AI integration should align with this core concept. As for the future of AI in gaming, Dicken remains cautiously optimistic but remains skeptical of the grand promises being made.