Will Generative AI in Games Trigger a Copyright Crisis?

As generative AI becomes more prevalent, new game genres might emerge in the future

Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry by providing dynamic and unique gaming experiences. It can be implemented to generate new levels, characters, and storylines, which can keep the game fresh and exciting for the players. Furthermore, it can enhance the realism of games by creating more realistic environments and characters. Finally, generative AI can use game developers' workload, allowing them to focus on other aspects of game development.

However, the introduction of generative AI in games has intricate legal and ethical issues. One of the primary questions is who has the ownership rights to the generated content. Moreover, there are concerns regarding the possibility of generative AI perpetuating harmful stereotypes or biases. Game developers must address these concerns and ensure their generative AI use is ethical and responsible.

There needs to be a clear legal framework to address this issue. In many jurisdictions, copyright law does not recognize works created by non-human entities. It leads to a flood of copycat games and a decreased innovation incentive. Conversely, if the copyright is awarded to the AI developers or data owners, it could stifle creativity and competition, as they could monopolize certain styles or types of content.

Recently reported by Wired, Games like AI Dungeon uses generative AI models to create content, raising questions about the ownership of user-generated content. The current gray area is addressed with an End User License Agreement (EULA) that allows users to use their created content as they wish.

However, using scraped human creativity in generative AI systems like AI Dungeon and ChatGPT can lead to potential copyright infringement. Incorporating text-to-image generators like Stable Diffusion in AI Dungeon, stories has resulted in lawsuits from visual artists and media companies.

In conclusion, the future of generative AI In games looks bright. As technology advances, we can anticipate more sophisticated generative AI systems that can produce increasingly intricate and realistic game content. Furthermore, as generative AI becomes more prevalent, we may see new game genres that leverage this technology. If all the issues are handled, we can expect generative AI to be used in other aspects of game development, such as game testing and debugging.