A recent interview with Chris Cocks reveals the Hasbro CEO has high hopes for Artificial Intelligence and content creation. According to a March 1 interview by VentureBeat, Cocks foresees a future where AI can generate content and game scenarios for Hasbro’s major IPs, including Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons.
Cocks cites a few experiments Hasbro has already conducted with AI in the interview. These include a virtual Ouija board (yes, those are a Hasbro property) and a free online version of Trivial Pursuit with AI-generated questions. That last one apparently boosted the original trivia board game’s sales by 30%.
Cocks radiates excitement, but it seems the tabletop gaming community is much more skeptical of Artificial Intelligence. Hasbro’s subsidiary, Wizards of the Coast, has already apologized twice for using AI art in content – once in a Dungeons and Dragons book, and once in an MTG ad (after promising to limit the use of AI).
Several smaller tabletop RPG publishers banned AI content from their products, claiming they wished to protect the livelihoods of human creators. Additionally, the RPG community has prohibited its use on Dungeon Master’s Guild, one of the largest online D&D marketplaces. Many fans have become hyper-vigilant in their search for AI, to the point that false accusations prompted Wizards to deny its use in the upcoming D&D Player’s Handbook.
Despite concerns from the community, those in charge seem more open to AI. Head MTG designer Mark Rosewater previously said he believed the technology would one day be used as a design tool in the trading card game, for example. This seems to echo Cocks’ dreams of AI content.
Habsro’s CEO is conscious of the company’s responsibilities, though. In the VentureBeat interview, he repeats the word ‘respect’ several times. These experiments apparently must respect creators and their ownership of work, as well as the consumers of this content (young and old).
The company’s experiments with AI seem to be in very early research and development stages. But Cocks says we will see more ideas from Hasbro about how to incorporate AI into its digital and physical games in future. With trust in Wizards of the Coast at a major low after the OGL controversy and Hasbro layoffs last year, we’re wondering how the D&D and MTG communities will receive this news.
You can read more about Chris Cocks’ thoughts in the VentureBeat interview. For more updates, be sure to follow Wargamer on Google News. And for the latest Wizards releases, keep a close eye on the MTG release schedule and the DnD release schedule.