Image: Push Square

'Human Creativity Must Remain at the Centre': Sony Talks AI within PlayStation

AI "not a replacement for artists or creators"

by · Push Square

During a Q&A session following the release of its latest financial results, Sony and PlayStation's top brass have outlined plans for the use of AI technology within the business.

It seems that the through-line guiding the company's approach is that AI should serve as a tool to aid creators and make certain processes more efficient, rather than replacing staff.

"Human creativity must remain at the centre," says Sony president and CEO, Hiroki Totoki. "AI is a powerful tool, but is not a replacement for artists or creators. It is an amplifier of human imagination and catalyst for new possibilities."

In terms of PlayStation, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Hideaki Nishino says its first-party teams have already been using AI solutions to make development more efficient.

"Within our studios, game developers are automating repetitive workloads, improving software engineering productivity, and accelerating areas like quality assurance, 3D modeling, and animations through new AI power tools," he says.

Nishino gives the example of something called Mockingbird, a proprietary tool that uses machine learning to animate 3D facial models based on performance capture, a task that would otherwise take hours of work.

Studios like Naughty Dog and San Diego Studio have adopted this tech, and it's already been put to use in released games such as Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, he says.

Nishino says animating hair is another area where AI/machine learning significantly eases workload.

"Our teams have accelerated this process by taking videos of real hairstyles and having an AI tool output a 3D model, with hundreds of strand models," he says. "These practical applications allow our teams to spend less time on manual, high effort tasks, and to instead reinvest their time into building richer worlds and gameplay for our players."

He also points to Gran Turismo 7's AI driver, Sophy, as an example of how the tech can lead to "new types of experiences for fans."

Related Articles

News PlayStation Boss Hermen Hulst: AI Won't Replace the 'Human Touch' in Game Development

Will be about finding a "balance"

An important distinction to make is that none of these examples appear to be utilising generative AI, which is the main concern for many.

"The vision, the design, and the emotional impact of our games will always come from the talent of our studios and performers," says Nishino. "AI is meant to augment their capabilities, not to replace them."

Another interesting application of AI tech within PlayStation is the PS Store. Nishino talks about how the rise of AI within development pipelines will ultimately lead to even more choice for consumers, necessitating better recommendation systems.

"We are building on this success with ongoing projects that will use machine learning to provide the best value possible to our customers. As AI brings more choices to players than ever, the value of our platform will lie in its ability to recommend and personalize at scale.
"We’ve already seen how AI models contribute to manual operation, and this will continue to improve. Our AI capabilities will evolve into a consumer-centric experience that not only suggests the next game a player might enjoy, but also the next gameplay moment, subscription, accessory, or merchandise that best reflects their passion."

PSSR is also mentioned, with recent improvements to the AI upscaling technology creating even better visuals and performance for PS5 Pro players.

Overall it seems like a fairly positive outlook, although memory shortages and "geopolitical complexity" affecting supply chains mean it's not all sunshine and rainbows. "Adaptability will be crucially important. We cannot rely on assumptions that have supported us in the past," says Totoki.

[source variety.com, via videogameschronicle.com]

  • Share:

About Stephen Tailby

Stephen has been part of the Push Square team for over six years, bringing boundless enthusiasm and a deep knowledge of video games to his role as Assistant Editor. Having grown up playing every PlayStation console to date, he's developed an eclectic taste, with particular passion for indie games, arcade racers, and puzzlers. He's also our go-to guy for Sonic-related matters, much to his delight/chagrin.

Comments 4

For now. As they adopt it more and more, they themselves are contributing to the problem leading to rising prices and this the cycle continues.

And eventually someone in Sony will pull a Jim Ryan, have a great idea, and start pushing for AI to replace staff because that's where the money is, just like live service pushes.

And if you told me they were doing this to make development easier, quicker, and hopefully cheaper, I call BS, because you can't tell me these studios have implemented it and STILL can't get multiple games out per generation surely?

@Haruki_NLI Unfortunately I think you're right. Businesses will business, and the aim of a business is to make money. See something that will save you money (i.e. allow you to fire people so you don't have to pay them) and they'll definitely want to go down that route.

What's that sound? It's a bit like...a nail...being hammered into some sort of wood. Maybe a container of some description?

@Haruki_NLI It's very early days in terms of integrating AI into workflows. Most studios / devs are likely trying it, and seeing if / where it can help their processes. But like trying all new things this will slow things down initially. Yet I do think it will help speed up SOME tasks in the long run, once tools and workflows are all in sync. But that will take time, don't expect fast changes.

Show Comments

Leave A Comment

Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...