Ubisoft Believes AI Uprising in Open-World Games is a Friendly One

Tech CEOs are possibly the biggest supporters of artificial intelligence, and Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot is certainly no exception. He passionately believes this technology will power a new generation of reactive NPCs and create far more dynamic versions of the publisher’s signature open-world games. Furthermore, Guillemot recently shared his vision on stage at Saudi Arabia’s New Global Sport Conference. However, is a conversation with an AI-generated historical figure actually a meaningful learning experience?

Your Strategist is Now an AI Supercomputer

For Guillemot, the answer to this question is a definitive yes. The CEO suggests that players could meet a character like Socrates, with the AI having access to all the available data on his words and deeds. Consequently, an interactive persona that’s very close to the real historical figure is created due to this method. That said, Ubisoft has already made itself familiar with this concept, as Socrates was already a memorable supporting character in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Mainly, the character was brought to life by human writers, animators, and a voice actor. With this idea, however, players can discover a stew of the philosopher’s beliefs, using an AI simulacrum. According to Guillemot, this philosophy would be taught to aid players in overcoming in-game challenges, essentially helping themselves to win without even realizing they are learning.

Outsmarting the Game That’s Outsmarting You

Given that this vision extends beyond just characters, Guillemot also believes artificial intelligence will make entire game worlds more intelligently reactive to a player’s actions. This approach means that they’ll no longer have to rely on pre-scripted events to travel through a world. Additionally, the CEO envisions a world that responds directly to the player, creating a unique experience that feels like their own personal story. So, will the current limitations of AI-generated content be overcome with this promise of a deeply personal and reactive world?

As of right now, AI content generation often carries an inherent feeling of emptiness. For many people, technology that feels more profoundly meaningless than video games themselves may not be the best tool to elevate the medium. It’s unknown if this tool can truly create the emotional depth and narrative coherence that human writers and designers bring to the table.

While the concept is compelling to consider, the technology still has a long way to go before it can deliver on such a grand promise. Whether players will actually want a world shaped by artificial intelligence or the carefully crafted touch of human creativity remains a significant question that developers will have to consider when creating the worlds of their games.