Valve has clarified its stance on what kind of AI can and can't be used in the games they publish, claiming that they’re not completely against this method. Prior to this, if a developer’s game was denied a place on Steam, many assumed that it was due to AI being used in it.
Responding to last week’s incident, the company told VGC that they’re not actually discouraging the use of AI to make video games. Apparently, last week’s incident was less of an AI issue and more of a copyright issue, which makes sense. Solely relying on that method usually leads to art being stolen.
“We welcome and encourage innovation, and AI technology is bound to create new and exciting experiences in gaming. While developers can use these AI technologies in their work with appropriate commercial licenses, they can not infringe on existing copyrights,” Valve said in their statement.
Obviously, AI isn’t all bad, as it can speed through certain development quirks and actually make things better. However, this is only when it's used with a team working on a game and not if it's making one by itself. Left to its own devices, AI will just make something generic and lifeless, which isn’t what video games should set out to be.
AI is still a hotly debated topic, especially in the arts, as artists are starting to see their hard work get stolen by AI or replaced by AI. The fact that Marvel’s Secret Invasion show used AI to make its opening was, frankly, disgusting when that company makes its name through human artists. Seeing something similar surface in the world of video games is just as depressing, if not more.
Read More: Steam bans AI art games from sale over copyright concerns
Even if AI isn’t all bad, we hope Valve continues to accept games made by human hands since they tend to be the best. Sure, you can argue that some AAA games feel like they’re being made by AI but that’s not an excuse.