Fortnite fans have spotted what they believe to be AI-generated content in the game, and they’re not happy about it.
The controversy over generative AI isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and I’m using “controversy” as extremely concise shorthand for “let’s not get lost in the weeds here”. But the Great Hydra of Discourse has apparently spawned another head, as Fortnite fans are deluging Reddit with complaints about AI content they claim to have spotted in the wildly popular, elder-alienating shoot’em up.
A post in r/FortniteBR titled “Say “No” to AI slop. A billion-dollar company should have no problem supporting real artists for real art.” has attracted over 3700 upvotes. One of the key points of contention is an in-game poster that appears to depict a Yeti with nine toes, which spawned a thread all of its own.
Partisans from both sides of the Great AI debate have chimed in. One remarked, “I only want AI for mundane tasks that slow down development, not creative elements. Naturally, corporations want AI for everything so they don’t have to employ a workforce.” Another noted, “That first one is 10000% AI. It has all the hallmarks of AI slop. The 2nd one I think people have looked at very closely and it seems real but just a style that’s commonly used with AI slop.”
Which sums up one of the issues at had rather neatly: there’s as much noise being made over whether any given element is or is not AI-generated, which muddies the water a bit.
But it’s interesting that this latest Fortnite controversy comes hot on the heels of Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of Fortnite publisher Epic Games, remarking that mandatory disclosure of AI content in games “makes no sense.”
All else aside, AI labelling would certainly cut down on the number of people arguing over how many toes a cartoon yeti ought to have.
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