In a new interview with CNBC, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick talked down the use of AI in the company's video games - going on to say that GTA couldn't be developed with that technology because "there is no creativity" in the AI model.
In what's a remarkable bit of common sense from a video game publisher boss, Zelnick says that because AI is inherently "data-driven", its current form can't really be used in the creative process - such as putting together a hugely ambitious video game like GTA 6.
"The team’s creativity is extraordinary, and what Rockstar Games tries to do, and so far has done over and over again, is create something that approaches perfection [...] There is no creativity that can exist by definition in any AI model, because it is data-driven."
Zelnick went on to say "what we do at Take-Two isn't attached to that [data-driven model]" and that if it were to attempt to integrate AI into its creative process, the end result would be "pretty derivative".
"The answer is no. A, you can’t do that yet, and B, I am of the view that you wouldn’t end up with anything very good. You end up with something pretty derivative."
Of course, the Take-Two boss is speaking from a place of privilege - GTA 6, and pretty much anything Rockstar does, is afforded unlimited time and budget due to sheer popularity. Still, what Zelnick says makes a lot of sense to us, and you can argue that Take-Two and Rockstar have earnt that place of privilege over the years.
At the time of writing, we should be able to see what all of this non-AI game development produces next May, when GTA 6 officially launches for Xbox Series X|S. That's barring any future delays, mind you, which could happen given the history of Rockstar and GTA 6 in particular.