A New Era
(Artificial Intelligence) AI and AI generated art is flooding the discourse online. AI writing tools and issues with plagiarism have been scrutinized in the past few years, but the problem appears to be growing.
AI “art” is being generated that mimics the unmistakable style and beauty of Studio Ghibli animated movies. We live in an era where these cheap mimics can be generated with a few clicks and *Beep-boop-beep* -Your new Facebook display picture looks like you were in Howl’s Moving Castle. Or maybe your phone background is a prompt-generated Ghibli rip-off.
The novelty is undeniable and I like to have fun, but the act of making cheap knock-offs based on the works of brilliant and beautiful artistic minds?
– It feels worse than pirating a movie.
This feels like stealing from the artists that make these things so remarkable to begin with. In turn, the proliferation of these tools and images erodes the awe and respect that these people and their talents deserve.
First it was emails & essays.
Then it was voices & “artwork.”
Now it’s in video games!
Microsoft Copilot
April 4, 2025 was the Microsoft 50th Anniversary + Copilot event, and in attendance was the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer.
Phil Spencer is the Head of Xbox and a bit of a superstar in the video game industry, so naturally there are many questions as to his part in a very AI-centric event. The event went over some of the major moments in Microsoft’s inception, their work in computing, and even Clippy! (that jerk)
Most importantly it touched on Microsoft’s contribution to the future.
It is most likely that some form of AI will be present in the next iteration of Xbox hardware. Whether it is a part of some tablet tech-acceleration or in the Xbox Cloud network, it is the new frontier of technological capability.
Those details however, were not revealed at the event. These are emerging technologies that almost everyone has a negative opinion on, and it is about to get a whole lot worse.
In the post-pandemic reality, huge numbers of people chose gaming as an escape from the harsh and uncertain elements of life. One of the most recent anxieties, AI is perceived to be a danger to the artform. Unfortunately there is some merit to this fear.
And Geoff Keighley himself is welcoming it with open arms!
Copilot Gaming Experience
Unveiled on the same day as the Microsoft 50th Anniversary + Copilot Event, the next advancement of Muse. Microsoft Research Blog calls it WHAMM which stands for World and Human Action MaskGIT Model.
Posted on the Microsoft Research Blog is a rather technical explanation of the WHAMM model. The details go well over my head without an education on the subject, but what I gather is that the model has various improvements over its former iteration. These improvements allow for faster generation of 10FPS. (Frames Per Second)
Each of these frames are made up of segments that are predicted based on the model’s prior learning of Quake 2. In a process I cannot fully understand, the model has learned a small portion of one level of Quake 2 and allows you to “explore” that level in real time. It is less of a game, and more of a clumsy proof of concept. It produces a fuzzy memory of an environment it was trained on. The creators themselves acknowledge the many limitations of their model.
Although the model is limited it is merely one step along the path to AI generated gameplay. Interactive media that is being conjured specifically for you in realtime.
This is a truly awe inspiring technological feat, but let us not forget about the countless humans that have brought us here. The people that pour their efforts and artistic passion into unique, authored and timeless experiences.
It is a fact that no machination can replace the creativity and humanity of the artistic process.
As Impressive as this model is, it is just that. A model, not a game or an experience. Nothing to write home about.
The tech advancements will continue, but they will not truly replace the human touch.
The sooner the corporate CEOs learn- the better.
