GOG admits it used AI to create controversial New Year Sales banner

GOG was caught using AI in a recent banner image, and now the company comes clean and admits that the promos were made with AI, but it wasn't meant to be published.

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Typically, gamers have a positive outlook on GOG, a store that sells classic PC games that have either disappeared or are very hard to find. That's not the case with a recent controversy, and GOG was caught using artificial intelligence in some of the art used for its New Year Sale promo.

GOG has since clarified exactly what happened to the subscribers of its new GOG Patrons program. In a private Discord, a GOG representative confirmed that the New Year Sale art was created using AI, but it wasn't meant to be pushed live as part of the sale, nor was it meant to be published at all.

• Read more: GOG announces Patreon-like $5 membership to support PC games preservation

The GOG rep goes on to say that the company explores various technologies that could give them an edge--GOG is rather small, and the rep insists that AI helps even the odds a bit, at least in this case.

From the sound of it, GOG is using AI for image mockups, which isn't unheard of, but this creation accidentally got pushed live as part of the promo.

Check below for the GOG rep's quote in full, as taken from the Discord server for GOG Patrons, courtesy of Kotaku:

"Hi everyone, I'd like to address the case of our recent New Year Sale banner.

"First of all, regarding the quality of the asset: This banner was a work-in-progress asset that we mistakenly allowed to be displayed on the storefront. This shouldn't have happened. We failed on at least two levels: Quality-control of the asset that landed on the front page, and then reacting quickly enough when we noticed the error.

"Second, I want to confirm that this WIP asset was indeed made with the help of AI tools. We hear your disappointment with the use of this technology, and see that it's a sensitive topic for many of you.

"I also want to be honest about how we chose to explore technology: We don't have the infinite resources of the industry giants. We're a dedicated, but small team, working our asses off every day for game preservation. To keep that mission alive, bring more games back to life, and make more games DRM-free, we experiment with tools that can allow us to do more with the limited hands we have.

"We've been testing different technologies since our beginnings. Some experiments are successful, and some (like this banner) are not. Exploring various tech gives us the reach of a much larger team, so we never have to settle for doing less."