PlayStation co-CEO Hermen Hulst speaks his mind about AI in gaming, sharing that it has the potential to revolutionize but will never replace humans. Read on to find out more about his thoughts, and PlayStation’s future plans after 30 years.

AI Will Never Replace Humans, Says Hulst

Instead, A Dual Demand in Gaming

Sony Interactive Entertainment co-CEO Hermen Hulst acknowledges that AI has the potential to “revolutionize gaming,” but it will never amount to the “human touch” of games made by people, he shared with BBC in an interview.

Sony and its PlayStation have been in the gaming business for a long time, with the company celebrating its 30 years in the industry since it released the PlayStation 1 to the market back in 1994. The company has seen the ups and downs of the industry, along with all its innovations and evolutions as technology becomes more and more advanced. At present time, one of those technologies that has been gaining notoriety in its usage is artificial intelligence, or AI.

Game developers have been concerned about the impact of AI in their jobs, for while it provides an avenue for many of the more mundane parts of game development to become automated and efficient, their reach could extend to the creative process as well, which will in turn take away jobs from humans. This has already been an issue, with a number of American voice actors going on strike as game companies plan to use generative AI to replace them and their voices to cut back on costs—the strike has received attention especially from the Genshin Impact community, where recent updates to the game have noticeably been lacking English-dubbed lines.

From a survey done by market research firm CIST, almost two-thirds of game development studios are already using AI to streamline their workflows, saying that “62% of the studios we surveyed said they used AI in their workflows, mainly to prototype quickly and for concepting, asset creation, and worldbuilding.”

“Striking the right balance between leveraging AI and preserving the human touch will be crucial,” Hulst said. “I suspect there will be a dual demand in gaming: one for AI-driven innovative experiences and another for handcrafted, thoughtful content.”

With that said, PlayStation has already begun researching, developing, and using AI in making development more efficient, even having a Sony AI department in the company dedicated to R&D established back in 2022. And aside from the gaming sphere, the firm is also looking into more multimedia expansions in the future, such as turning its games into films and TV show series. He pointed out 2018’s God of War as a start, which is ongoing development as an upcoming Amazon Prime show. “I am hoping to raise the PlayStation IP outside of just the gaming category and elevate it so it sits comfortably within the larger entertainment industry.”

This vision for expansion may be the driving force behind Sony’s rumored reports of acquiring Japanese multimedia giant Kadokawa Corporation, whose reach ranges from paper-back media to anime IPs. However, things are currently kept under wraps.

PlayStation 3 Was Aiming Way Too High

In light of the PlayStation 30th anniversary, former PlayStation chief Shawn Layden took a trip down memory lane and shared several stories and insights about his time with the tech giant back when the PlayStation was still just a concept. Over the years of his tenure, Layden became a pivotal figure in the gaming division, ultimately becoming PlayStation Worldwide Studios’ chairman.

One of the stories he highlighted was declaring that the PlayStation 3 (PS3) was the Icarus moment for the team, saying that “We flew too close to the sun, and we were lucky and happy to have survived.” With gaming consoles getting bigger and better each passing year, companies needed to have something special about their console to make sure that it even stood a chance in the market—and the team had a plethora of ideas for the PS3. “We had PS1, PS2... and now we're building a supercomputer! And we're going to put Linux on it! And we're going to do all these sorts of things!” Ambition was at an all-time high, but it proved too much for the team, hence it being touted as the “Icarus moment.”

“PS3 got us back to first principles, and that's what you need sometimes when you're riding too high on your own supply. You take a little tumble, you hit your head on the wall, and you realise, 'I can't continue to operate this way'. PS3 was a clarion call to everybody to get back to our first principle.” They wanted the PS3 to be more than just your run-of-the-mill console, but in reality, that would have been too pricey to do at that time. “We also learned that the center of the machine has to be gaming. It's not about whether I can stream movies or play music. Can I order a pizza while I'm watching TV and play? No, just make it a game machine. Just make it the best game machine of all time. I think that's what really made the difference. When PS4 came out, it set us against what Xbox was trying to do. [They wanted to] build more of a multimedia experience, and we just wanted to build a kick ass game machine.”