Sony is the latest company revealed to be testing the use of NPCs powered by generative AI in its games. After a prototype video showing an AI NPC in action was leaked online, players and game developers alike shared the same reaction to Sony’s technological leap — no, thanks.
Sony’s AI NPC project came to light after an internal video was shared with The Verge by an anonymous source. The video shows Horizon Forbidden West protagonist Aloy responding in real time to spoken questions, narrated by Sharwin Raghoebardajal, a software engineering director at Sony. The video has since been pulled offline due to a copyright claim, but it shows Aloy answering questions while speaking directly to the camera and during a short gameplay segment. The AI model is able to answer questions about the environment accurately, albeit vaguely, and offers the strange detail that it’s “dealing with a sore throat” when asks how it’s doing. All of this is of course delivered in the characteristically creepy tone that’s become a hallmark of AI-generated voices.
