Game Developers are overwhelmingly concerned about the ethics of using AI. The organizers of the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) have released their annual State of the Game Industry Survey, in which 84 percent of the 3,000-plus respondents said they were somewhat or very concerned about the ethics of using generative AI, The Verge reported.
The survey’s results elaborated on why developers are concerned, citing reasons that include the potential for AI to replace workers and exacerbate layoffs or expose developers to copyright infringement complaints. Developers are also worried that AI programs could scrape data from their own games without their consent.
GDC’s survey also broke down developer sentiment regarding AI according to job type. Respondents in more technical fields like marketing, programming, and business generally thought AI would have a positive impact on their jobs, while those with creative job types like art, narrative, and quality assurance felt AI would negatively impact their jobs.
The Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) posted some key information from its survey:
One-third of developers have been impacted by layoffs, and half are concerned there could be more
One-third of developers (35%) said they’ve been impacted by layoffs – either by having some layoffs take place within their team or company or being laid off themselves. Quality assurance developers appear to be hit the hardest, with 22% of them saying they were laid off this year (compared to 7% of all developers). Business and finance professionals reported the least layoffs (2%).
Over half of all respondents (56%) expressed some level of concern that their company could see layoffs in the next 12 months, while one-third said they weren’t at all concerned. When asked to share their thoughts on the rise of layoffs in the game industry, many developers cited post-pandemic course correction, studio conglomeration, and economic uncertainty as possible explanations, and some expressed a desire for unionization to protect workers.
Four out of five developers are worried about the ethical use of Generative AI
When it comes to how Generative AI will impact the game industry as a whole, game makers appear to be mixed. Those working in business, marketing, and programming were more likely to say the technology would have a positive impact while those in narrative, visual arts, and quality assurance were more likely to say the impact would be negative.
Even though many developers seem to be uncertain about their industry impact of Generative AI, they are quite certain about the ethical impact. A large majority of developers indicated they were somewhat or very concerned about the ethics of using Generative AI, while only 12% stated they had no concerns.
In my opinion, it sounds like game developers are concerned about layoffs of real people – whose jobs might be taken over by generative AI. That must be a huge headache for those who are worried about losing their jobs.