It Takes Two And Split Fiction Director Shares His Thoughts On AI

After It Takes Two sold more than 20 million copies, developer Hazelight's new game, Split Fiction, releases this March. The story involves the characters Mio and Zoe encountering a machine that takes ideas from writers without paying them for their work. With advancements to AI prompting concerns in video games and across many industries over just such issues, Hazelight boss Josef Fares discussed his thoughts on AI in a new interview.

"It's both scary and very exciting," he told VGC. "I believe at the end of the day, whatever new technology that comes, you should work with it and not against it."

Fares went on to say that the video game industry would be smart to lean and embrace AI.

"We need to adapt to it," he said, speaking freely like he's known to do. "If it's part of the industry we should see how to implement it to see how we get better games. I can understand the fact that some people could lose their jobs but that goes for every new technology."

A recent study found that the majority of game developers today use AI as part of their work processes, despite ongoing concerns. Some of the concerns are around potential job losses. For its part, Electronic Arts believes AI could lead to job losses in the short term, but more job creation overall. Recently, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick said AI is an oxymoron because machines do not learn. He also said it's important to remember that humans will always be essential to game development as they work alongside AI.

Going back to Fares, he said he expects the rise of AI to lead to "bad stuff and good stuff." He said he understands it's a "sensitive" subject, but it's one he refuses to look away from.

"You can't just close your eyes. I believe AI will have a bigger impact on the world than the internet had, eventually. It's a long time until you can use it in an actual development, at least not at our place, maybe others can do it," he said.

It's not surprising to hear Fares share his opinions like this, as he was the guy who flipped off the camera and said "F**k the Oscars!" at The Game Awards a few years back.

Video game performers are currently on strike, and one of the key sticking points is the subject of AI. Veteran voice actor Jennifer Hale recently said AI is an "existential" issue for the future of video game performance, which might be why it's taking so long for the strike to end.

For more, check out GameSpot's Split Fiction preorder guide.