As generative AI becomes widespread and its controversies heat up, some industries in Japan are re-evaluating creators' genuine abilities. According to a recent report by Japanese news site Daily Shincho, a certain Japanese tourism association canceled a 20-year-old art competition after failing to effectively distinguish between AI-generated and human-created submissions. This ripple effect has quickly spread to the game industry, prompting a mid-sized game development company to completely overhaul its recruitment process for artists.
The report indicates that the company now requires all art-related applicants to draw on-site during interviews to prove their work isn't a product of generative AI. This information comes from the company's chief graphic designer, Mr. B, who revealed that relying solely on portfolio reviews is no longer dependable.
Mr. B stated that the company previously faced issues like insufficient actual work capability after mistakenly hiring "creators" who submitted AI-generated images, which even damaged team efficiency and productivity. He said, "Many people now present AI-generated images as their own creations. We did hire such individuals, and they produced absolutely nothing during work, causing a lot of trouble."
Consequently, the company decided to adopt a more direct and "traditional" method to verify skills: requiring candidates to draw on the spot. Despite the cumbersome process and increased burden on the interview workflow, Mr. B noted that several other companies are already implementing similar practices.
What worries him more, however, is that company executives are exploring a different path: instead of strengthening skill verification, they're questioning the need to hire traditional creators at all. According to Mr. B, management has raised questions like, "If AI is powerful enough, do we still need human creators?" and "Should we instead hire specialists to operate AI?"
While Mr. B firmly maintains that only humans can create truly soulful characters and visuals from scratch, he admitted his position within the company is becoming marginalized. He stated, "I also use AI as an auxiliary tool, but I believe it's still humans who can truly create moving characters. Management is increasingly leaning towards AI, and I'm concerned whether they understand the difference."
This incident reflects the unprecedented disruption generative AI is causing across the global gaming and creative industries. Earlier this week, former GTA writer Dan Houser also warned in a radio program that many pushing AI don't truly understand creation, even predicting that AI will suffer a "quality collapse" by "eating itself."
via： デイリー新潮