Hideo Kojima Warns of AI and Social Media Dangers

The genius shared his frustration when Death Stranding was called a walking simulator.

Game designer Hideo Kojima drew parallels between Alejandro G. Iñárritu's film 'Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths' and his own Metal Gear Solid 2, released in 2001. According to the developer, both works address issues of misinformation, the influence of algorithms, and the gradual loss of a shared understanding of reality.

The discussion was prompted by a joint interview with Kojima and Iñárritu, published by the Japanese edition of Gizmodo Japan in honor of the premiere of 'Bardo' in Japan.

According to Kojima, the spread of false information online can have an increasingly serious impact on politics and people's daily lives.

Iñárritu, in turn, named the loss of a shared understanding of reality as one of the main problems. According to his observations, algorithms determine what content users see on their smartphones, which leads each person to receive only a fragmented picture of what is happening.

The director cited discussions about 'Bardo' itself as an example: often they revolve around stories and conversations related to the film, rather than what was actually seen on screen. As a result, people who haven't even watched the film may already have a formed opinion about it.

Kojima drew an analogy with the audience's reaction to Death Stranding. After the game's release, some users called it a walking simulator, even though they hadn't played the project themselves. The developer is particularly concerned that such a perception continues to exist and spread.

In his opinion, the situation will become even more complex with the development of artificial intelligence. Users risk increasingly encountering only information that matches their interests and beliefs, losing the opportunity to get acquainted with alternative views and unexpected ideas.

The developer also believes that such informational isolation can deprive people of random encounters and unexpected discoveries — situations that often make them reconsider their own views.

This topic has already been raised by Kojima in the context of Death Stranding 2. He previously stated that the game addresses the danger of handing over control of human decisions to the internet and artificial intelligence.

However, the game designer does not call for abandoning technology. He acknowledges that the internet is extremely convenient and, in particular, helped people survive the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in his opinion, it is important to avoid dependence on the digital environment and to approach the use of available tools consciously.