Dr Luke Dicken, the former head of AI at Take-Two, has said that excessive hype around generative AI risks turning people against all forms of artificial intelligence in game development.
Dicken led a team that began at Zynga in 2019 and expanded across Take-Two after the 2022 acquisition. The division focused on traditional AI methods before the company laid off the entire group in April.
In an interview, Dicken stated he was never particularly passionate about generative AI. He noted a moral obligation to manage it carefully, adding that "for any big corporation in 2025/2026, no generative AI is the wrong answer that will get a lot of people's backs up."
He expressed concern that the current hype could damage interest in proven AI techniques. "My worry is that generative AI is poisoning the well," Dicken said. "I don't think there is enough sophistication and nuance to retain the traditional stuff."
Dicken observed that the environment has shifted since five years ago, when proposals for AI in level generation drew skepticism. He said the overblown excitement now makes people more open to AI ideas but risks a backlash once expectations fall.