Larian announce plans to let folks ask anything about their generative AI use, asserting "a lot has become lost in translation"

"It would be irresponsible for us not to evaluate new technologies," CEO Swen Vincke adds

Larian hope to offer "more insight" into their usage of generative AI via an ask me anything session set to take place in the new year. It'll also be a chance to ask more general questions about Divinity, if you fancy. Naturally, this all comes after the Geoff announcement of the Baldur's Gate 3 devs' next RPG was swiftly followed by comments from CEO Swen Vincke which revealed the studio are making limited use of generative AI.

In a second response to backlash against his assertions regarding Larian's use of genAI "to explore ideas, flesh out PowerPoint presentations, develop concept art and write placeholder text" - you can get the full context in our other recent pieces - the CEO's announced that the studio'll be hosting an ask me anything chat in the new year. Arguing that "a lot has become lost in translation" following Divinity's announcement, Vincke wrote that this back-and-forth is aimed at offering "the opportunity to ask us any questions you have about Divinity and our dev process directly".

While he put a pin in revealing a concrete date for the chat for now, writing that one'll be forthcoming once the calendar flips over to 2026, the CEO did take this opportunity to offer a bit more of his view on the subject "Larian’s DNA is agency," he wrote. "Everything we work towards is to the benefit of our teams, games, and players. A better work day, and a better game. Our successes come from empowering people to work in their own way and bring the best out of their skill & craft, so that we can make the best RPGs we can possibly make.

"In that context, it would be irresponsible for us not to evaluate new technologies. However, our processes are always evolving, and where they are not efficient or fail to align with who we are, we will make changes."

To be fair to Vincke and co, you can't accuse them of simply burying their heads and going quiet as the backlash has swirled. The CEO's tried to offer explanations and clarifications in a number of formats, as has Larian's publishing director Michael Douse. I'm not sure the latter's retweeting of posts from YouTubers coming to Larian's defense or attempt to meme up the situation have really helped, but hey, if you reap the rewards of being an abundantly active tweeterperson, you're usually doomed to fall on that same sword at some point.

If you want what I assume to be a meme-free discussion about Divinity itself, you can check out Edwin's chat with Vincke from earlier this week. Or, you can read James' view on the CEO's bit of RAM shortage chat from another stop on the same tour around the publications.