Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Grand Theft Auto VI publisher Take-Two, has said that the use of artificial intelligence could lead to more employment in the games industry and not result in job losses as many would assume.
Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Zelnick was quizzed about the application of AI in Take-Two’s plans going and whether the industry needs to implement any guardrails to protect itself. In response, he suggested that AI can be viewed as another tool that doesn’t have to result in layoffs.
Artificial intelligence is an oxymoron, there’s no such thing. Machine learning, machines don’t learn. Those are convenient ways to explain to human beings what looks like magic. The bottom line is that these are digital tools and we’ve used digital tools forever. I have no doubt that what is considered AI today will help make our business more efficient and help us do better work, but it won’t reduce employment.
Related Content — Upcoming PS5 Games 2025: The Best PS5 Games Coming Soon
To the contrary, the history of digital technology is that technology increases employment, increases productivity, increases GDP and I think that’s what’s going to happen with AI. I think the video game business will probably be on the leading, if not bleeding, edge of using AI.
In terms of the guardrails, if you mean not infringing on other people’s intellectual property by poaching their [large language models], yeah, we’re not going to do that. Moreover, if we did, we couldn’t protect that, we wouldn’t be able to protect our own IP. So of course, we’re mindful of what technology we use to make sure that it respects others’ intellectual property and allows us to protect our own. Apart from that, I really can’t think of any new guardrails that need to be implemented.
Take-Two announced during its latest financial results overnight that Grand Theft Auto VI is still targeting a Fall 2025 release window on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Zelnick previously commented that the upcoming Rockstar Games crime epic is ‘breathtaking‘ and will be absolutely worth the wait.
[Source – GamesIndustry.biz]