GTA 6 publisher Take-Two's CEO Strauss Zelnick isn't intimidated by generative AI, and he's not afraid of it, either.
He tells Christopher Dring during a new episode of his The Game Business podcast that AI isn't the great, creative equalizer that some people purport, and others fear – "not even the littlest bit." In fact, "The notion that somehow new tools would allow an individual to push a button and generate a hit, and market a hit, and bring it to many millions of consumers around the world… It's a laughable notion."
Zelnick continues, "Certainly, there are other entertainment businesses that are technically less robust than interactive entertainment. For example, music. And, right now, there are programs that allow you to put in a prompt and get a professionally [...] recorded song spit back out at you." But while whatever you generate may indeed sound "like a song," Zelnick says, "I defy you to listen to it more than once."
So don't expect ChatGPT to burp up the GTA 6 killer anytime soon. Zelnick maintains the technology isn't capable of such a thing – and he doesn't think AI can commit any real evil, either. He says, "I don't believe machines have the ability to be good or evil. And anyone who knows anything about digital machinery at the end of the day realizes that."
All that will come from generative AI's widespread use, according to Zelnick, is "an enormous impact across all industries in terms of making mundane office work essentially more efficient or unnecessary." Oh, and don't forget to mention the thousands of layoffs, too.
Xbox just revealed Gaming Copilot is coming to "current-generation consoles" later this year.
