A Wizards of the Coast job posting for a Principal AI Engineer raised ire on social media this weekend, as many believed it signified a break with the company’s previous statements regarding AI use.
But according to Christian Hoffer, reporting at Comicbook.com, Wizards has clarified that the advert relates to some of the company’s upcoming video game projects, and that its stance on AI in the Magic: The Gathering TCG and DnD tabletop RPG has not shifted.
The job ad in question was originally posted back on May 9, but didn’t cause controversy until a fan’s Twitter post drew more eyes to it. The description asks for “experience with AI/ML systems” in areas such as “simulation, asset creation, and generative content”.
It states that the successful candidate will need to “design, build, and deploy systems for intelligent generation of text dialog, audio, art assets, NPC behaviors, and real time bot frameworks”.
It also says that applicants will need to understand the “ethical ramifications of using AI in our work”, and be able to communicate about ethical AI use.
After Wizards of the Coast included AI art in a DnD book last year, apparently by accident, the company created new guidelines about the technology’s use in its main tabletop brands. These state that “We require artists, writers, and creatives to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final Magic or DnD products”.
Many fans of both games are vehemently opposed to AI content, partly from fear of how it may effect creative professionals, and partly due to ethical concerns about how AI generation currently works.
This latest job ad debacle is the umpteenth mini-scandal surrounding DnD and AI in the last year. In some cases, like when an artist’s image was wrongly accused of being AI-generated, it seems the fan response has been overzealous. But you can hardly blame AI opponents, who seek to keep generated technology out of their favorite games, for being hypervigilant.
Last year Mark Rosewater said he thought AI would eventually be used for card design, and Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks recently expressed excitement about AI technology.
And in late 2023, after seeming to take a hard stance against AI art, Wizards was then accused of using it for Magic: The Gathering adverts, and later apologized for doing so on another occasion.
One problem with the whole debate is that to a layperson (like me, and probably you), it’s tricky to spot where AI has been used and where it hasn’t, and hard to know what is meant by a particular case of ‘AI use’.
By itself, ‘AI’ is a relatively unhelpful term, which could refer to a hundred different techniques and processes – some new, some old, and some more nefarious than others.
And that’s just one of the reasons we expect this latest event won’t be the last time an AI controversy hits the DnD community.
For more tabletop content, check out our extensive guides to all the DnD races and DnD classes.