AI is here to stay, but it’s going to be some time before the technology finds a comfortable spot in our culture. The brouhaha over Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the latest example of AI ruffling feathers, and this time, it’s managed to catch the ire of a US congressman. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) called for regulations in a post on X.
“We need regulations that prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs to extract greater profits,” Khanna wrote. “Artists at these companies need to have a say in how AI is deployed. They should share in the profits. And there should be a tax on mass displacement.”
The congressman’s post includes a screenshot of calling cards from Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Each card tracks a player’s progress on an in-game achievement, such as “Death from Above,” which reads, “Get 25 Kills with the War Machine Ability while airborne.” The cards include artwork, ostensibly depicting the activity described in the calling card.
But, as Khanna and others (via PCMag, ExtremeTech’s sibling publication) suggest, the artwork appears to be in a Studio Ghibli style, possibly created by AI. The artwork, which depicts fantasy settings with wizards and dragons, also seems a little out of place for the Call of Duty franchise.
Interestingly, Activision, which produces Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, addresses AI content in the game’s Steam description. Under the heading “AI generated content disclosure,” Steam includes this text: “The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this: Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets.”
So, if the company tells gamers it’s using AI content, is this really a big deal? Gamers themselves have been weighing in on Steam, and the verdict, so far, is mixed. It may be some time before sales numbers provide a clearer picture of the game’s success. Even then, attempts to gauge gamers’ comfort (or distaste) for AI-generated content could be muddied by other factors, such as whether they enjoy the game’s storyline.
It’s also worth noting that Activision started using AI to screen voice chats for toxic language a couple of years ago. And Treyarch Studios appeared to acknowledge the use of AI for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (via IGN, another sibling publication), but indicated that the goal was “Not [to] replace, but [to] streamline.”