Bethesda's Todd Howard shares views on AI: 'We want to protect human artistry'

Bethesda may not be using AI to generate things for its games, but studio head Todd Howard does see the technology as a tool of sorts...yet he is a strong believer that human-created art will always come first.

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As the games industry starts to use AI in various ways to help create new projects, some executives are taking a people-first approach to the technology. When asked about how AI could help accelerate the multi-faceted world of games development, Bethesda's Todd Howard delivered a neutral take, saying that it's another potential tool, but it will always require a human operator in order to really make use of it.

In a recent interview with IGN, Howard essentially says that Bethesda Game Studios is continually iterating on and building its game engine tech--especially the newest version of the Creation Engine that will power The Elder Scrolls 6. Innovation won't come at the cost of creativity, though, and Howard says that the studio "wants to protect human artistry."

• Read more: Fallout is the franchise Bethesda is doing 'the most work in,' Todd Howard says
• Read more: Todd Howard teases future of Fallout games, including Fallout 5: 'We are working on even more'
• Read more: Todd Howard reiterates that Bethesda is 'working on a bunch of games and different things'

Here's what Howard said:

"For AI, right now? That's a big one. I view it as a tool. I think creative intention comes from human artists, number one. But I think we look at it as a tool for...is there a way that we can use to sort of help us go through some iterations that we do ourselves, faster? Not in generating things-we're always working on our toolset, how we build our worlds and check things.

"And so, I think if you go back to a version of Photoshop from 10 years ago, you wouldn't want to go back to that version of Photoshop.

"We want to protect human artistry, because the human intention of it is what makes art so special."

Bethesda has multiple projects in development right now, including internal BGS projects like The Elder Scrolls 6 and a new Starfield expansion, as well as other projects like Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 76, and the continued development of transmedia shows like season 3 of the Fallout TV series.

There's also reports that there are multiple new Fallout projects in the works, including a potential Fallout 3 remaster, and maybe even a Fallout New Vegas re-release or anniversary edition-style remaster to help boost franchise sales.