Former Ubisoft director and game designer Clint Hocking spoke about the use of generative artificial intelligence in the gaming industry. In an interview with EDGE magazine, he stated that the question is no longer whether to use such technologies, but how to make their implementation safe and useful for society.
According to Hocking, the development of AI is inevitable, so the main focus should be on adapting people to large-scale changes in the labor market. He compared what is happening to the historical transition from an agrarian society, where the majority of the population was engaged in agriculture, to the modern world, where this sector requires significantly fewer workers.
The developer also said that Ubisoft is creating its own AI-based tools designed to improve team efficiency. He emphasized that this is not about completely replacing employees with algorithms. According to him, AI is used as an auxiliary tool, not as an alternative to artists, designers, or other specialists.
Hocking noted that there are many misconceptions surrounding this topic. He refuted the common belief that companies are already massively replacing workers with artificial intelligence while maintaining previous production volumes.
In the interview, the developer also recalled working on Watch Dogs: Legion, released in 2020. One of the key features of the game was the ability to control almost any resident of virtual London. According to Hocking, the team then discussed ways to automatically generate unique lines and stories for numerous characters, but the technologies available at the time did not allow for such a system.
He believes that if the development had taken place a few years later and the creators had modern language models, the studio could have explored the possibility of generating dialogues, voices, and individual character traits much more deeply. Nevertheless, Hocking emphasized that such decisions largely depend not only on technological capabilities but also on society's attitude towards the use of AI.