In the recent wave of renewed interest in AI technology, many gaming companies are recently grappling with what AI technology means for them and their businesses. Just as CEO Andrew Wilson and COO Laura Miele talked about the future of games, AI and EA during the company’s Q4 earnings call, EA will be among them.
Responding to questions about AI, Wilson first said the gaming industry will likely be “one of the biggest beneficiaries of AI.” He described AI as an “extension” for the EA team as well as a way for players to create content within EA’s world.
But he also wasn’t the most reassuring about some AI concerns.
“The fear of forced displacement of the workforce is something we read and talk about a lot,” Wilson said. “And if you think about every revolution from the Agricultural Revolution to the Industrial Revolution and beyond, there’s been a shift in labor in the short term and then a huge increase in labor opportunities in the long run. Our hope is that AI represents a similar opportunity, allowing employees to benefit in that way, and actually empowering employees to do more. We are working closely together internally.”
Wilson also addressed other concerns, noting that the issue of ownership of AI output is not a concern for EA given more than 40 years of internal data and proprietary content that AI could possibly learn from. He also addressed concerns about bad actors using AI and pledged that EA would work with governments and regulators, as well as the industry at large, to enact AI-related legislation to protect consumers.
At this point, Wilson threw to Miele, who reiterated many of Wilson’s points, as well as a partnership with EA, thanks to data from third parties such as LaLiga, to help the company improve its AI training. He added that he is in a strong position.
Miele then pondered the various possibilities for using AI in live service games.
“In game development, you can imagine the speed of content. With very smart content tools, creative iteration will be greatly favored. You’ve mentioned real-time text-to-speech for and what that means, and when you think about massive live game support, it’s a pretty cool thing to apply as we continue to grow these connected ecosystems Image detection, problem detection, economic modeling will come, so we are very optimistic, excited and inspired about this new wave of AI.”
EA executives also talked about possible crossovers of Apex Legends content in the future, with Andrew Wilson saying that Microsoft’s potential acquisition of Activision Blizzard is “not very important” for EA. If you’re interested in learning more about the subject of AI, IGN recently hosted AI Week with articles and video content on early technologies.
Rebekah Valentine is IGN’s Senior Reporter. you can find her on her twitter @duck valentine.
