ETHICS Blog 1: Ethical Frameworks in Article
Published on:
Some thoughts on X or Y and/or Z.
Case Study reading:
The Unnerving Future of A.I.-Fueled Video Games
The Unnerving Future of A.I.-Fueled Video Games: Ethical Framework
Does A.I. have a place in gaming? Some companies believe it is the future of gaming, others, such as developers, worry about their place in the industry. Gaming has been a large part of my life growing up and the problematic issues of the industry have always been on my radar. For years, developers and staff have faced spirit-breaking crunches, abuse from supervisors, and widespread layoffs. Companies are eager to start incorporating generative models into their latest titles. They argue that A.I. can be used to create immersive experiences that can react to players in real-time and output dialogue. Companies have also started to outsource jobs like voice acting, concept art, play testing, and level design to A.I. models. It’s not all negative, as A.I. can be used to do menial tasks such as ‘barrel placement’ and other odd jobs. Developers, though, are worried about becoming obsolete in the eyes of their employers. Already getting the short end of the stick, developers could be replaced in less than five years by A.I.. Though, it will take some time to make A.I. usage in video games is more efficient and less expensive. Companies have justified A.I. being a necessity in response to the demand for more photorealistic games. As audiences demand more and more, games become more expensive to make, requiring more hours of development and upkeep after release. While A.I. might make developing games quicker, they’ll be a lot more expensive to run. So is it actually cheaper?
Virtue: The “Right Action” would mean that companies don’t layoff employees as a result of A.I., maybe trying to have them work side by side. In my opinion, A.I. usage in gaming sounds unnecessary. The “Wrong Action” would be keeping only a select few employees around to guide the generative models, while the rest of the developers are left jobless.
Contractarianism: The “Right Action”. If someone spends $80 on a game that the developers have no control over, is that ethical? A.I models have been shown to be unpredictable and uncontrollable. The “Wrong Action” can be seen in games like Fortnite, where A.I. voice actors can be made to say profanity and racial slurs when tricked by savvy players. Should companies be responsible for the things the models they use produce?
Reflection: The article was an incredibly interesting read, and I enjoyed seeing how to fit my notes into the ethical framework. I still don’t know if I fully understand the frameworks but I felt that this assignment helped me understand a little more.