• Hasbro CEO All-In on AI

    From Spalls Hurgenson@spallshurgenson@gmail.com to rec.games.frp.dnd on Thu Sep 12 12:12:51 2024
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

    Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks is excited about using AI in D&D.
    "Inside of development, we've already been using AI" and "there's not
    a single person who doesn't use AI somehow for either campaign
    development or character development or story ideas. That's a clear
    signal that we need to be embracing it."*

    But he also claims to play D&D with 30 or 40 people regularly, so I'm
    not sure how much I believe him.

    Well, I believe him about them using AI. It's cheaper than actually
    paying people, after all, and who cares if the end result is pabulum.

    I know, I know; "AI is just a tool" and "it's coming so you might as
    well accept it" and all that. But nothing I've seen about AI has
    indicated it makes games any _better_; just that it allows products to
    be released faster and more cheaply (for the developer, anyway. I
    don't really see those savings reflected in the prices I end up
    paying).

    Hasbro's stance also runs counter to Wizard of the Coast's stated
    countermand, requiring third-party artist to refrain from using AI
    art. But I guess what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander.
















    * https://www.pcgamer.com/games/hasbro-ceo-says-all-his-mates-are-using-ai-for-their-d-d-games-which-is-apparently-a-clear-signal-that-we-need-to-be-embracing-it/
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  • From Kyonshi@gmkeros@gmail.com to rec.games.frp.dnd on Mon Sep 16 09:36:24 2024
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

    On 9/12/2024 6:12 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks is excited about using AI in D&D.
    "Inside of development, we've already been using AI" and "there's not
    a single person who doesn't use AI somehow for either campaign
    development or character development or story ideas. That's a clear
    signal that we need to be embracing it."*

    But he also claims to play D&D with 30 or 40 people regularly, so I'm
    not sure how much I believe him.

    Hmm... that wasn't uncommon in earlier editions, but I don't think the
    current version of DnD is very good for that.


    Well, I believe him about them using AI. It's cheaper than actually
    paying people, after all, and who cares if the end result is pabulum.

    I know, I know; "AI is just a tool" and "it's coming so you might as
    well accept it" and all that. But nothing I've seen about AI has
    indicated it makes games any _better_; just that it allows products to
    be released faster and more cheaply (for the developer, anyway. I
    don't really see those savings reflected in the prices I end up
    paying).

    The only use case I can see for AI in TTRPG games is as a quick filler
    for stuff that doesn't matter. I was trying to give ChatGPT some
    prompts, and it did manage to get what looked like properly statted NPCs
    and monsters in a variety of game systems. But the content also was
    really, really boring and trite. So if you needed a quick description of
    some room or item you never thought you might need, then maybe it could
    be useful.

    It still feels like I would be betraying the spirit of the game though.

    Also note the "looked like" I used in that paragraph before: the main
    problem with AIs right now is that they confidently will state
    absolutely wrong information in what sounds like confidence. When I was
    trying out ChatGPT it basically made up information about subjects I
    really knew well, and it all sounded very convincing, because that's
    what ChatGPT does: it makes convincing text that is roughly like
    something a real person would have written. It doesn't think about
    stuff. It doesn't know how stuff works or how stuff interrelates with
    each other.


    Hasbro's stance also runs counter to Wizard of the Coast's stated countermand, requiring third-party artist to refrain from using AI
    art. But I guess what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander.

    Well, that's because Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast sometimes have this
    issue knowing what each other is doing.


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