The Big Debate: What role should AI have in video game narrative?

A games writer (Daniel Griliopoulos) and an AI game creator (Thomas Keane of Meaning Machine) debate the role of AI in video game narrative. Both agree AI alone produces low-quality 'slop,' but Keane argues that combining AI flexibility with handcrafted human content creates genuinely new storytelling experiences, as demonstrated in their game Dead Meat. Griliopoulos raises concerns about copyright, power consumption, and job losses, while acknowledging AI's inevitability. Both stress that the creative community must engage with AI to shape its ethical use rather than cede that ground to those indifferent to ethics. Key themes include the importance of human authorship, constraints on AI NPCs, the hidden costs of AI, and the need for legislative reform around copyright and compensation.