Embracer Group Says They Want To Use AI To Help Avoid “Bias” In Game Design
Embracer Group states its AI can help not only “empower” employees, but sldo avoid “bias” in game design
In their Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2023/24, Embracer Group explained that one of their highlights of the year was the AI policy package they had implemented. Under the “sustainability report” chapter, they discussed their human-centric approach to AI in games.
They also aim to use AI to “create more engaging and immersive experiences that provide each player with a unique, dynamic, and personalized experience. We also see great opportunities for AI in game development speed, logistics and planning.”
Tomas Hedman, Head of Privacy & AI Governance at Embracer Group, admitted that a business not utilizing AI would put them at a disadvantage to their peers. Nonetheless, Hedman emphasized “We do not want to replace people with AI, we want to empower them.”
As a core part of the company’s sustainability strategy revolves around “diversity and inclusion,” AI has a role to play here as well.
“It’s not just that AI enables our developers to do even more, and to become more efficient on certain tasks, it will also open up coding to a broader group of developers. Entry into the industry might be easier for individuals with disabilities who, for instance, cannot use a keyboard as easily as others,” Hedman proposes.
What an AI could offer that specialist keyboards and computer mice designed for people with disabilities wasn’t specified.
Hedman also explained the need for “training”- as most AI do – but in order to prevent it from producing a “bias” due to what data it has been fed.
“AI is trained on historical data, which tilts in a certain direction. As a result, you can end up with imbalanced automated decision-making. Let’s say you’re building a village. If you use AI for this, depending on how it’s trained and the decisions it takes, you may end up with a village with a demography that displays some sort of imbalance.”
In theory, this means an AI built to create NPCs for a historical real-world settlement could be trained to abandon accuracy in favor of a diverse population.
Back in 2018, Warhorse Studios defended Kingdom Come: Deliverance from claims of racism, due to following historical accuracy of the population of 15th-century Bohemia being almost entirely white. The game was published by Deep Silver, an Embracer Group subsidiary.
Hedman continued, explaining while being aware of risks such as privacy and IP rights, AI had potential in Embracer Group’s future.
“As AI models become more powerful, we can leverage their capacity also in the creative process, for example, by identifying inconsistencies in scripts and storytelling. There will be tremendous benefits for our creative teams regarding scriptwriting, image creation, idea generation, quality control, and more.”
Other examples included more human-like models being able to handle dynamic interactions with players. Albeit, the example Hedman game was merely the game remembering the player’s actions (“If in a game scenario you bargain, AI can remember this the next time”).
Later in the report- under “Risk Management”- AI’s usage for logistics and planning was elaborated. Discussing the risk of AI-Governance, Embracer Group emphasize that they are “are subject to general as well as specific laws and requirements that impact the development and use of AI.”
“These requirements are, due to the nature of AI applications, comprehensive and require, among others, documentation, risk assessments as well as continuous updates.”
“AI may also produce unethical, biased, discriminatory or completely wrong results if it has not been properly trained, instructed or used for purposes it was not designed,” Embracer Group forewarn.
They add that AI material is not “patentable or copyrightable,” and requires understanding how the AI produces its content in case it violates copyright or IP of a third party. The mitigation for the risk of using AI-Governance was launching a group-wide forum (“to increase awareness of AI potential and requirement”), and the AI Policy dictating requirements.
Even the “non-implementation of AI” is considered a risk, mitigated again by the AI forum. But Embracer Group revealed other plans when discussing it, such as its use in HR and hiring people.
“AI can also be used within areas such as logistics or HR to improve planning, decision-making, support talent acquisition and enhance employee experiences or retention. Not using AI for relevant tasks within Embracer Group will lead to us losing competitiveness and being outrun by our competitors,” Embracer Group insist.
While it can be all-too-easy to imagine an AI handling difficult HR situations through a brutal number-crunching and DEI-focused lens, that would be pure speculation. Common sense dictates a human would still ultimately review what an AI recommends, and that employees will still have a chance to talk to a human being.
Embracer Group declares “we maintain a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of discrimination and harassment within the Group.” Employee well-being is also a focus of the sustainability section.
Nonetheless, Embracer Group’s sustainability includes diversity and inclusion. This may affect their hiring practices, and how their AI is trained. For example, they proudly stated in the annual report that their workforce is 30% women (up 4% last year), and that they “remain committed to furthering our efforts”.
“Embracer Group believes that a more diverse and inclusive workplace will create more diverse and inclusive
games and entertainment,” the company explained under the Sustainability Report- Solid Work heading. “Embracer Group wants to develop games and entertainment for everyone, regardless of background, gender, age, or ability.”
“Lately, the parent company has focused on making our products mirror their audience even better and increasing the
accessibility to enjoy our products.”
What would Embracer Group HR AI prioritize- ability, or diversity? This and many other AI-focused questions can only be answered by seeing what the company produces next.
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