The newly restructured Swedish conglomerate, The Embracer Groupwill use artificial intelligence models to boost game production.
As stated in Embracer’s annual reportThe company has adopted a new suite of AI policies that it claims has the ability to “massively improve” its manufacturing process by “increasing resource efficiency, adding intelligent behavior, personalization and optimization to gaming experiences.”
Embracer says that by leveraging AI, it will be able to create more engaging and immersive experiences that will provide each player with a “unique, dynamic and personalized experience.”
“We also see big opportunities for AI in the speed of game development, logistics and planning. Embracer Group also understands the potential risks associated with the use of AI,” the company adds, adding that “AI can also be used within areas such as logistics or HR to improve planning, decision-making, supporting talent acquisition and improving the employee experience or retention.”
embracer, which during the past year dismissed over 1,500 employees and canceled 80 projectssuggests that not using AI for “relevant tasks” will lead to it being “overtaken by our competitors”.
The company admits that adopting AI models isn’t without risk, but says the policy will “empower” workers to help create “more powerful experiences at the same time.”
“Companies within the Embracer group that use AI in their operations are subject to general and specific laws and requirements that affect the development and use of AI. These requirements are complex due to the nature of AI applications and require, among other things, documentation, risk assessment and ongoing updates,” the company’s risk assessment states.
“AI can also produce unethical, biased, discriminatory or downright wrong results if it has not been properly trained, instructed or used for purposes for which it was not designed. In addition, material generated by AI is not patentable or copyrightable, which means we must understand how the material is made.” , especially by third parties, as such material may cause serious copyright or intellectual property problems in the final product.”
Embracer says AI models won’t replace human workers
Embracer says it doesn’t want to replace humans with AI and is taking a “human-centric approach” to the technology — going so far as to say it could open the door to new hires.
“Not only is AI enabling our developers to do more and be more efficient at certain tasks, but it’s also opening up coding to a wider group of developers. Entering the industry can be easier for individuals with disabilities who, for example, can’t use a keyboard as easily like others,” said Tomas Hedman, Head of Privacy and AI at Embracer.
Hedman says the company’s “risk-aware approach” means it is aware of the pitfalls associated with AI models. Therefore, he says, Embracer must “act consciously.”
“AI is trained on historical data that leans in a certain direction. As a result, you can end up with unbalanced automated decision-making. Let’s say you’re building a village. If you use AI to do that, depending on how it’s trained and the decisions it makes, you can end up with a village with a demographic that shows some kind of imbalance,” says Hedman.
“As AI models become more powerful, we can also leverage their capacity in the creative process, for example by identifying inconsistencies in scripts and storytelling. This will bring huge benefits to our creative teams in terms of script writing, image creation, idea generation and quality control .” and further, as the models become more human, the interaction between players and AI-powered features will become much more dynamic to experience much more interesting and alive.”
Embracer isn’t the first company to embrace the potential of AI. EA boss Andrew Wilson claimed earlier this year 60 percent of publisher development processes could soon be influenced by generative AI. Others included Sony, Square Enix, Ubisoftand others have also started tinkering with the technology.