Electronic Arts believe that the gaming industry will greatly benefit from artificial intelligence, according to company chief Andrew Wilson. The CEO of EA was questioned about AI during its Q4 Earnings Call and Wilson went out of his way to address certain fears regarding the technology, but his prediction is unlikely to do much to quell them.
EA has been enjoying a subtle renaissance across the past couple of years, effectively distancing itself from prior notoriety. The gaming publisher was voted the worst company in the United States of America for two consecutive years over a decade ago, around the time that Wilson entered the top position. His subsequent tenure has endured to the present day, but it has not always been smooth sailing - Star Wars Battlefront 2's egregious monetization at launch sparked a worldwide debate about the ethics of loot boxes in video games. EA even attempted to rebrand the practice as "surprise mechanics" when speaking to UK Parliament, which provoked understandable anger from those that consider loot boxes to be no different from unregulated gambling.
However, besides the occasional comment or tweet leaving a sour taste in gamers' mouths, EA has since found success in Game of the Year winner It Takes Two, a remaster of the beloved Mass Effect trilogy, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. But some will hope that Wilson backs off his recent remarks about AI, as he did with NFTs last year. Wilson opined that the gaming industry will likely be "one of the greatest beneficiaries of AI," and believes the technology could "augment our incredible teams." He acknowledged the concern that AI would replace existing roles but did not proceed to assure no workers would be made redundant because of it.
Instead, Wilson spoke of revolutions across history and claimed that short-term displacement of the workforce has led to "meaningful increases in workforce opportunities." However, the USA's transition towards a predominantly service-based economy did not dramatically improve the opportunities available but rather ravaged domestic manufacturing. The loss of those jobs is still felt by workers across the country that were not provided with the opportunities to retrain and reenter the workforce. And AI has the potential to wipe out more than just labor-intensive occupations, as demonstrated recently by the threat facing artists and other creatives.
EA recently dismissed six percent of its workforce despite reporting a $1.3 billion quarterly profit in January, so it's understandable that some may be worried that more workers could be laid off as AI becomes more widely adopted.
Source: GamesRadar