After killing off and selling off various studios and causing lots of job losses, Embracer Group have put out their latest annual report and they have big plans for AI.
Embracer Group control the likes of THQ Nordic, PLAION, Coffee Stain, Amplifier Game Invest, DECA Games, Easybrain, Asmodee Group, Dark Horse Media, Freemode and Crystal Dynamics – Eidos. They have around 106 game development studios under their belt.
It was only a matter of time of course until they started talking up AI, as with other major game developers and publishers, and basically every big company that exists — they're all trying to shove AI into something so they can say "hey look we have AI too!".
Embracer think AI and large language models (LLMs) will empower their developer teams and say they don't want AI to replace people. From the annual report in their Risk and Mitigation overview it states:
AI has the capability to massively enhance game development by increasing resource efficiency, adding intelligent behaviors, personalization, and optimization to gameplay experiences. By leveraging AI, we create more engaging and immersive experiences that provide each player with a unique, dynamic, and personalized experience. We also see great opportunities for AI in game development speed, logistics and planning. Embracer Group also understands the potential risks associated with the use of AI. Our aim is to empower our employees with AI applications.
So what they've done is create a "Group AI Policy" that includes various guiding principles, risk assessment, and a risk framework that they're implementing across their companies with the idea being "human empowerment". Here's what Tomas Hedman, Head of Privacy & AI Governance at Embracer Group, had to say about it:
"Certainly, one of the major risks for a company is not to use AI, as this would mean a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis other industry players. Most companies will move forward on AI integration in different ways. For us, it is the way that we do this that is the most critical element.
We do not want to replace people with AI, we want to empower them. This is the core of our human-centric approach to leveraging the potential with AI.
It’s not just that AI enables our developers to do even more, and to become more efficient on certain tasks, it will also open up coding to a broader group of developers. Entry into the industry might be easier for individuals with disabilities who, for instance, cannot use a keyboard as easily as others.
AI is trained on historical data, which tilts in a certain direction. As a result, you can end up with imbalanced automated decision-making. Let’s say you’re building a village. If you use AI for this, depending on how it’s trained and the decisions it takes, you may end up with a village with a demography that displays some sort of imbalance.
As AI models become more powerful, we can leverage their capacity also in the creative process, for example, by identifying inconsistencies in scripts and storytelling. There will be tremendous benefits for our creative teams regarding scriptwriting, image creation, idea generation, quality control, and more. And, as models become more human-like, the interaction between players and AI-supported functions will be much more dynamic. If in a game scenario you bargain, AI can remember this the next time. That makes the whole gaming experience much more interesting and lifelike."
It's worth noting that in the last GDC Survey, it showed that 31% of devs were already using AI.
What are your thoughts on this?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
QuoteWhat are your thoughts on this?In spite of how they say they don't intend to replace people, I'm sure that those who lost their jobs are delighted to hear that they've been replaced with what's basically the modern equivalent to the Gibberish Generator.
Quotehuman empowerment
Says company that is just buying studios for profit and then firing people when the profit doesn't come.
Quoting: PenglingWhat? You don't like glue with your pizza?QuoteWhat are your thoughts on this?In spite of how they say they don't intend to replace people, I'm sure that those who lost their jobs are delighted to hear that they've been replaced with what's basically the modern equivalent to the Gibberish Generator.
Quoting: Liam DaweWhat? You don't like glue with your pizza?No more so than I like spicy gasoline spaghetti.
QuoteIf in a game scenario you bargain, AI can remember this the next time.Holy shit, they just invented persistent game states! Now I understand why everyone is hype about AI. Sign me up!
As usual, the goal is not to replace people. It's just a side effect of efficiency.
benstor214 Jun 21
Quoting: Gibberish Level 5There with a demography that AI models benefits for this would mean a companies in scripts and the creative teams regarding a village. If you’re building to become most companies whole game sort of our developers. Entry interaction. As a result, you bargain, AI into this that AI cannot just that is not way that is not to replace people will be tremendous become more, and to become most critical data, which tilts in a companies will move for a competitive disadvantage creative teams regarding inconsis[…]
Quoting: Gibberish Level 6This is the way that displays some sort of imbalanced automated decisions will be much more powerful, we want to replace people with disabilities will also open up coding scriptwriting, image creation between players. AI is the next time. That makes the integration, idea generation, idea generation, idea generation between players. Entry into the creation, idea generation, quality control, and more power them. This is the industry might be easier for this the decisions will be tremendous benefits for […]
To me, they’re indistinguishable.
williamjcm Jun 21
I'm not *completely* against technologies like that, as long as it's used in moderation. For example, I use Tabnine in basic mode, which is basically an improved code completion system, and using a purely local model trained exclusively on my own code. And this is more than enough for my own purposes.
Quoting: benstor214I fed “Head of Privacy & AI Governance at Embracer Group” Tomas Hedman‘s blabbering to the Gibberish Generator and this is what came out of it:HAHAHAHAHA! Thanks for demonstrating the Gibberish Generator point with a truly excellent example.
Quoting: Gibberish Level 5There with a demography that AI models benefits for this would mean a companies in scripts and the creative teams regarding a village. If you’re building to become most companies whole game sort of our developers. Entry interaction. As a result, you bargain, AI into this that AI cannot just that is not way that is not to replace people will be tremendous become more, and to become most critical data, which tilts in a companies will move for a competitive disadvantage creative teams regarding inconsis[…]
Quoting: Gibberish Level 6This is the way that displays some sort of imbalanced automated decisions will be much more powerful, we want to replace people with disabilities will also open up coding scriptwriting, image creation between players. AI is the next time. That makes the integration, idea generation, idea generation, idea generation between players. Entry into the creation, idea generation, quality control, and more power them. This is the industry might be easier for this the decisions will be tremendous benefits for […]
To me, they’re indistinguishable.
hardpenguin Jun 21
Quoting: fagnerlnI believe that AI can help, people who can't write a code can use it, people who can't produce art can use it... But of course big companies will use it to reduce the employees numbers. Those developers should have a plan B, create a indie studio and start working on prototypes.Better yet, make an AI consultancy startup ;)
Quoting: fagnerlnI believe that AI can help, people who can't write a code can use it, people who can't produce art can use it... But of course big companies will use it to reduce the employees numbers. Those developers should have a plan B, create a indie studio and start working on prototypes.
The code that's generated by AI is never perfect. People who take that generated code should be even more proficient in programming to verify that the output is correct (because code review is harder than code production).
AI can help them with very basic stuff maybe, it doesn't remove the need for users to actually know programming.
Quoting: SalvatosQuoteIf in a game scenario you bargain, AI can remember this the next time.Holy shit, they just invented persistent game states! Now I understand why everyone is hype about AI. Sign me up!
Imagine this: you buy an RPG game and the NPCs view and treat you depending on whether you bought it for a full price or on sale. If you bought it at -90%, your reputation is minimal and everyone sees you as a pariah. On the other hand, if your reputation is balanced, every cosmetic DLC you buy makes you more of a celebrity in the game's world.
officernice Jun 21
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