With the announcement of Divinity, Larian Studios, the creators of Baldur's Gate III, announced that they will be using generative artificial intelligence within their development process. This was confirmed by the CEO and founder of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke. He has further stated that it will not be present in Divinity but will still be used within the process, however, this is still very harmful and unethical. A developer not including generative AI in the final product does not absolve them of wrong-doing.

 

Swen Vincke has stated in a post on Twitter/X 

"Holy fuck guys we’re not "pushing hard" for or replacing concept artists with AI. We have a team of 72 artists of which 23 are concept artists and we are hiring more. The art they create is original and I’m very proud of what they do. I was asked explicitly about concept art and our use of Gen AI.

I answered that we use it to explore things. I didn’t say we use it to develop concept art. The artists do that. And they are indeed world class artists. We use AI tools to explore references, just like we use google and art books. At the very early ideation stages we use it as a rough outline for composition which we replace with original concept art. There is no comparison.

I talked about how we use ML here if you would like to know more:

https://gamespot.com/articles/baldurs-gate-3-dev-embraces-machine-learning-for-tasks-that-nobody-wants-to-do/1100-6531123/

We've hired creatives for their talent, not for their ability to do what a machine suggests, but they can experiment with these tools to make their lives easier."

 

If you use Gen AI even at the conceptual, early stages of development that is still repulsive. People want concept art that is actually conceptualized from human minds. You are using a tool that with every generation, every click of a button pollutes and harms Black and Indigenous communities, furthers water bankruptcy, and relies on datasets of stolen artwork. We know that generative AI is highly unregulated within the industry, if a company allows it to be used in any capacity it sets the example, it sets the standard. If you allow it to taint even a little bit of the workflow and process, it will slowly seep and creep its way into more, bit by bit.

 

Larian set the example with Baldur's Gate III of creating a game full of love, hard work, and a soul that doesn't cram micro-transactions down your throat. It sets the precedent of what people want out of AAA games and how things should be done.

Now, Larian is setting the precedent that generative AI has a place within the development of games, that it is okay to use this "tool" to harm people, the environment, and the livelihoods of so many.

 

It funds the existence of these data-centers that are being placed in close proximity to Black and Indigenous communities. These data-centers create such a loud noise that it can be considered a form of psychological torture to both the human and animal inhabitants, not to mention the insufferable light pollution and the increase of premature deaths stemming form respiratory issues.

 

Baldur's Gate III helped me find myself after losing myself due to abuse and CPTSD, I owe it so much, it helped me heal and to see those behind it causing so much harm to this world... Well, it breaks my heart and I want to do something about it. It's from my love, that I am so critical of this decision from Swen Vincke and Larian Studios. Please, let us do something about this in any way that we can.