"AI is not a shiny new feature," Xbox AI lead says, and "our games industry has been building AI systems for decades" from cheat detection to pathfinding

As I'm sure you've learned to expect at this point into Microsoft's AI hobby, Microsoft Gaming representatives at this year's Game Developers Conference – attended by GamesRadar+ – were eager to discuss the topic. Especially because, as general manager for gaming AI at Xbox, Haiyan Zhang, reiterates, it's such an old topic.

"There are many strong voices at this GDC and across the industry when it comes to AI," Zhang observes during Microsoft's lecture on Responsible Innovation for Gameplay Experiences. "I think I speak for everyone in this room when I say, we're taking the stance that AI is not a shiny new feature. It's not a replacement for human creativity."

"Our games industry has been building AI systems for decades," Zhang continues. "I'm sure you've heard of this before. From systems for pathfinding, tactical enemy behavior, cheat detection, to learning systems."

Reflecting on EA's 2001 god game Black & White, Zhang notes that the demigod Creature pet that assists the player "actually leveraging some reinforcement learning to adapt to the gameplay and change based on what the player is doing. Or, since 2005, we've had Drivatar in Forza Motorsport, where we leverage machine learning to model player driving styles, so that, if you're not around, your friends can play, can drive, against your Drivatar."

However, Zhang doesn't deny that possible implementations of generative AI – from recording dialogue to creating smooshy in-game assets – are now less quaint than they were 20 years ago. But in her eyes, "what's changed today is the scale and sophistication of the model."

"I think what that means is, we have to think about AI on a deeper level," adds Zhang, "and I think we all are. And we have to be more mindful about how we use it."

Before you get replaced with AI, check out all the upcoming Xbox Series X games.