Matt Karch, Saber Interactive CEO, Gives Full Story Behind AI Writer Controversy
Image Source: Steam
The controversy over the upcoming game Rideshare “Stimulator” continues to develop, as Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch has given a direct response. Stella Sacco claimed to be the head writer for the game until the company removed her from the project entirely, allegedly replacing her with an AI generative program, ChatGPT. While the company gave an initial statement denying these accusations, Sacco has maintained her stance. In a statement to This Week in Videogames, Karch has given an official statement responding to the allegations.
Karch began, “Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her. We have already said we are using AI for certain parts of the game and will update the Steam page once we have finalized the feature set.” Claude is a conversation-based AI tool that can act as an assistant. The use of generative AI in this game was previously undisclosed, though the company maintains that it planned to use GenAI all along.
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Image Source: Steam
The game is listed on Steam, which is run by Valve; all games utilizing GenAI are required to describe its use in detail with a disclosure statement, which Rideshare “Stimulator” did not initially have. A content disclosure is now on the page. He continued, “Let me clarify that the entire story script, were it to win an award, would go to someone who can walk up on stage and receive it. It was always our intention to reveal this until Stella violated her confidentiality clause and revealed this before we were ready.” Karch defended GenAI from his perspective, “We look at our use of AI in this particular game, which will be a lower priced title, as a plus for consumers.”
The CEO wrapped up his commentary with how the company is moving forward professionally: “As far as Stella is concerned, she was replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later. From what I can gather she enjoys controversy even more than I do. I would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI. At least we would be dealing with someone programmed to be honest.” With this statement, the company has firmly doubled down on its choice to use GenAI in the game, and on all the steps that brought them to this moment, so consumers can make a more informed purchasing decision.
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Source(s): TWIV, GameIndustry, IBM, Steam, Saber
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