The debate over artificial intelligence and its impact on game development has once again put Grand Theft Auto VI in the crosshairs, and Strauss Zelnick did not bother softening his point. The Take-Two Interactive CEO argued that AI is not there to replace people, and that if job replacement were really the goal, the first roles under threat would belong to those with the most money, resources, and influence – including Elon Musk.

The discussion around artificial intelligence in the video game industry has once again circled back to Grand Theft Auto VI. Many critics of generative tools continue to hope that one of 2026’s biggest releases will stay away from them altogether, but Strauss Zelnick has repeatedly made it clear that he sees AI very differently from those expecting an outright replacement of human work.

Speaking at the Semafor World Economy 2026 event, the Take-Two Interactive chief referred to Elon Musk’s view that artificial intelligence could democratize the creation of major productions and usher in a broader transformation of creative industries. Zelnick pushed back against that framing, arguing that he sees AI not as a substitute for workers, but as a support tool.

To make that point, he looked back at the digital transition of the last century. At the time, plenty of supposed visionaries claimed paper would disappear and hiring would decline because computers would take over. According to Zelnick, reality went in the opposite direction. “We use more paper today than ever before. And we’re hiring more people than ever before,” he said, before turning his criticism directly toward Musk’s argument.

Zelnick argued that if artificial intelligence were truly coming for jobs, it would logically begin with those who command the largest operations and the deepest resources. “It has unlimited funding, unlimited resources and personnel, and, apparently, unlimited ideas. The man works 20 hours a day – if AI were going to take jobs, wouldn’t his be the first to go?” he said. He also noted that he himself is working more now than in previous years, despite already embracing AI tools that, in theory, are supposed to help lighten that load.

With that, the executive’s wider point was that AI is not replacing people, but extending what they can do and reshaping how they work. He also took a few lighter shots at Musk, joking at one stage that the entrepreneur might himself be an AI simulation. Beneath the humor, however, sat a sharper message: Zelnick clearly does not buy into the more alarmist narrative that artificial intelligence will inevitably wipe out human jobs across the industry.

Source: 3DJuegos