AI won't despise humans as much as people who want to give us AI

Here is some news if you were born yesterday:

Keanu Reeves SHUTS DOWN Elon Musk on Live TV¹

It's an interesting take. Keanu Reeves decided to play Neo against the machines' Agent Elon.

Although I'm not Team Elon, I don't feel Team Keanu, at least at the beginning. His arguments seemed too poetic, like they were aimed at people who watch too much anime. Maybe because LLM's capabilities are not about what it means to be human and flawed. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I need to take a motorbike ride across the California seashore and watch some sunsets. Maybe someday!

But one thing that makes me part of Team Keanu is his engagement in empowering artists with AI instead of replacing them!

Contrary to Elon, which worries me.

Elon's vision of everything

Quite recently, we heard his criticism of gamedev being dominated by corporations. His focus right now is on movie-making corporations, and not because of new criticism. And his solutions are very bad.

AI creates scripts, actors, and music. Soon studios won't need people.

AI is cheaper, faster, doesn't age, or demand royalties. Studios care about profit, not unpredictability.

This was produced entirely by an AI in under 24 hours. No actors, no costly sets, just pure technology. How can you compete with this?

Elon is a serious businessman (and I mean it without sarcasm), and he knows that the biggest money lies in B2B (as in: Business To Business) solutions. But B2B means that the main customer is the one who rules a corporation (sometimes the one who excels in spreadsheets to analyze money flow) and not creative people. Which is weird, when promoting AI for gamedev, his more into praising Levelsio than CEOs.

But in my opinion, the problem lies elsewhere. Before I let you in on my theory, I'd like to highlight that there's a big precipice between a large company making games and indies. And the problem lies in the large companies (while indies will just have to adjust somehow) and the weird situation they're in. And it's the same with games and movies! Which is weird considering Elon wants to target big game companies, but serve big movie companies.

Here's my diagnosis: the more money they put into games budgets, the bigger the risk. Instead of lowering the budget, they try to reduce the risk in creative decisions.

How the hell did we get there!?

There is a reason we get so many remakes, sequels, and adaptations in movies from big studios (thankfully, we still get some original scripts). They spend a lot of money, earn even more (not all the time, but still), and having that win on their side, they want to earn not least than they've recently earned. It's not about staying afloat. They need to fly while they're at it.

But spending money is always linked to risk. Even when you buy groceries, games, and all. And the bigger the budget, the bigger the risk. And everyone needs to minimize the risk!

How do they do it?

By doing what worked before. By investing in things you already know. Things that you might have an emotional link with.

And that is a brand.

Another sequel to Star Wars, Avatar (once a new original script, now only a big brand).

A book gets super popular and sells like hell. Well, there's a chance that all the people who read the book would want to watch a movie.

What big brands of the past haven't been mentioned for a while? asked a decision-maker in a big company owning multiple brands? Let's make a reboot/remake! Who cares about people who want Babylon 5's story continuation? We need more people to pay, not old fans, people who missed out on it and would like to start from the beginning, or people who are too young to miss out in the first place. It's a classic after all! An old BIG thing? Let's remake it! Let's take the most well-known title. Not some small thing, the big fish².

These are all "low" risk decisions (as low as possible given the budgets given to them).

Of course, the bigger they want to go, the more people they hire. Someone needs to do the work, right?

But you know what the other low-risk decision is? Hiring fewer people. Because the biggest cost in most of these companies is people. People needed to play the role, to make the special effects, to compose the music, and to play the music. And a shitload of roles that are needed that I can't even name.

Elon wants to replace them by giving studios tools. Don't create costly sets - generate them with AI. In consequence, fire the teams responsible for making costly sets. Don't hire actors - use some stock photos (or stock AI models of young actors) and use them instead. Will the actor be the only casualty? No. His stuntman, his makeup artist, and the team that helps them prepare will be obsolete. Oh joy, how many costs are now erased! Will those movies really become cheaper to make? Or will the money just change the target and now support AI companies instead of the former employees? After all, big budgets also have a marketing purpose.

Studios do care about profit and predictability. But for some reason, they chase big-budget movies, which are harder and harder to make.

What happens when an AI-generated movies earn more than those with real actors?

Well, that's the problem. Decision people will think this is the way to go. And we will get more of them. And many more people will have their jobs at risk.

Future movies will be (...) precisely predicting audience desires

And that's the 2nd thing that worries me. Are we just sheeple for big businesses? Stupid question, of course we are. We are supposed to watch those movies with one-time licences bought at cinemas and spend tons of money on popcorn and stuff.

I don’t want my desires to be predicted…

Art is about human connection

Why do you need art? What does it give you?

In my case, I benefit from all the things an artist can give me. His point of view on humans or the world, his art style, and his nuances. Sometimes (in movies) I like to watch the way they kick ass.

I don't mind artists using AI (as long as they use it with quality, like their other skills). I do mind AI being an excuse for CEOs and boards.

Digression: Why does Elon need art? Does he? Or is it just an addition to the popcorn for him?

Next thing we'll see is "our favorite" serial woman impregnator talking about depopulation.

Stop talking about movies! Talk games!

As an aspiring solo game developer, I know I will not escape the topic of AI. All of us will have to embrace it, and learn how to use it.

When it comes to writing code, LLMs are a no-brainer. Stealing isn't really a thing here.

The problem is art. Graphical and musical. Where AI models are trained on the work of real artists and musicians, often without consent or compensation.

If I were a rich as a gamedev corporation, I could just hire people. But I’m a solo game developer and short on money. What to do?

I could use AI art as placeholders, and then “downgrade” by hiring real artists. Or just downgrade AI art for it to look more “real”? I could use assets, of course. But they cost money, and then there’s always the risk that some games will look similar to mine.

Maybe I can break down my work and use AI for smaller details? Creating textures? Or maybe non-music sounds I’ll use?

More and more corporations will do this, and indies will have to adjust somehow, either by using AI or hiring (sooner or later) pros who use AI.

A life-inspired digression

Some time ago, I talked with a friend about LLMs. He's not really technical, but he told me that his sister-in-law, a translator, had already lost her job to AI. I was surprised. Why fire people? Why not arm them with AI and make them do more work? None of us knew the answer to that. Unfortunately, most CEOs are apparently idiots.

In my company, AI is being more and more integrated. How? By teaching people how to use them to make more and better.

Empowering, not replacing.

What do you think? How will indies use AI for their games?

1. For the record, I decided not to watch the clip. I somehow feel Elon would piss me off 😉

2. I have no idea how Battlestar Galactica's remake was greenlit, but I'm sure happy it became an exception to this rule!