The owners of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) got their asses kicked in August when an AI image was used in one of their books, and they subsequently vowed to stop using AI in source books and materials…

In January, Magic: The Gathering (also owned by Wizards of the Coast [WotC]) released AI-generated artwork, although the company said it was not AI-generated, then claimed otherwise and admitted it was a mistake. Chris Cocks, CEO of Hasbro, which owns WotC, told VentureBeat at the Dice Awards: “D&D has 50 years of content for us to mine. Literally thousands of adventures that we’ve created, probably tens of millions of words that we own and can leverage. Magic: The Gathering has been around for 35 years, over 15,000 cards that we can use in something like this.

WotC is now looking for a “Principal AI Engineer” on its website, which means that the company is once again reaching out to AI. SpicyEncounters, a former D&D creator, wrote on Twitter that they are fixing their game, expanding its horizons, and making it popular, but it seems WotC can’t or won’t stop replacing creators with bots. Nala Wu, an indie art director and illustrator, has repeatedly defended WotC, whose art directors have repeatedly said that this sort of thing will not happen, and this is a slap in the face.

WOTC is once again moving forward with their AI Plans & frankly– it's time.

I've closed my #dnd5e shop, & I will never create or sell a 5e product again.

If you make D&D content, please read the thread below.

I hope you'll join me. #AnythingButDnD pic.twitter.com/gxo3nkBYLq

— Pip the Spicy (@SpicyEncounters) June 2, 2024

Every AP Podcast is a free advertisement for them.
Every 3rd party book sold is free content for them.

We fix their game, expand its horizons, & make it popular.

And yet Wizards is either willing to abide by or unable to stop those who would replace us with… bots.

— Pip the Spicy (@SpicyEncounters) June 2, 2024

This is so damn frustrating. I’ve defended WotC idk HOW MANY TIMES bc I was made promises to my face by the art directors at this company that this would never happen. And I know individuals don’t decide these things but MAN does this feel like a slap in the face. pic.twitter.com/ofeMFBm6OQ

— Jae COMMITS TO THE BIT 🩸✨ (@NalaWu) June 2, 2024

WotC has told ComicBook that they have not changed their stance on AI because it is a job offer for future game projects, and the company’s Q&A states that artists, writers, and creatives working on D&D or Magic the Gathering will not be allowed to use generative AI tools to create final products. The company expects its lead AI engineer to design, build, and deploy intelligent generation systems for dialog, voice, art assets, NPC behavior, and real-time bot frameworks, and to keep abreast of developments in AI (2D, 3D content creation, voice generation).

So card games can’t have AI, but games can? It’s like WotC is playing both sides of the fence.

Source: PCGamer