Divinity producer says using AI for "unimportant lines" removes "the chance to support performers" such as Baldur's Gate 3 star Jennifer English: "Every VA starts small"

Discussion around generative AI continues to permeate the industry, and Burhan Zamri, an associate producer at Divinity and Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios, is making it clear he's firmly against using the tech in voice-over work. In a post on Twitter, he explained exactly why it’s important that smaller roles go to human beings rather than machines.

"We lose the chance to support performers like Jennifer English if we let gen AI replace human acting," he states, sharing a clip of English voicing a meagre treasure chest in Divinity: Original Sin 2. "Every VA starts small and progressively levels up to take on bigger challenges."

The scene he shares is a charming back-and-forth where the protagonist must unlock a repository that requires a password. It's a small conversation that brings plenty of flavor to the general scene, and in a game as big as Original Sin 2, it's these moments that accentuate the journey.

"When we let AI do the 'unimportant lines' (BS btw), people with potential never get to shine," he adds. Zamri is making a crucial point here: minor jobs and grunt work are important in providing stepping stones into game development (and any other discipline, for that matter).

They're opportunities for people to get valuable experience within larger infrastructures without the pressure or requirements of more substantive roles. Some of the conversation around the incorporation of AI has centred on using it for less noteworthy tasks nobody likes, but those are ways to teach up-and-comers .

English is prolific now, after voicing Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3, Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Latenna in Elden Ring. But right at the bottom of her credits, you'll find Divinity: Original Sin 2, a game people are flocking back to in light of the announcement of a new Divinity from Larian. She started somewhere, throwing a small riddle at the player, and others should get the same chance.

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