ALT Someone telling me: ‘nothing says “support artists” like deciding which artists to support’ beneath a post saying don’t support AI or its users.

ALT Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch is making his stance on AI very clear. In a statement to IGN, he said that the publisher won’t be “shying away” from AI-powered features like generative speech and text in the company’s upcoming game Rideshare Stimulator. He added that he would have “been happy” to have replaced a former writer who worked for Saber with AI.

ALT Controversy around the upcoming Rideshare Stimulator began earlier this week when the game’s former lead writer, Stella Sacco, wrote that she was replaced by ChatGPT partway through development. She posted on Bluesky in response to the game’s reveal, “I didn’t even see this had been announced. I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they’re not disclosing it on Steam.” Rideshare Stimulator still doesn’t currently have Steam's required AI disclosure on the platform.

ALT The AI Slop Backlash Is Actually Having an Impact Platforms are finally recognizing that people don’t want to consume AI slop. A growing number of sites and apps now have tools and policies to flag, label, and ban AI-generated content.

ALT Public backlash appears to be working, at times, in getting unwanted AI features shut down. “They just roll them out and see what sticks, because nobody really knows what this is for,” says Nick Seaver, an associate professor of anthropology at Tufts University focusing on technology and society. Google recently rolled back the ability for people to use generative AI to tweak satellite images on Google Earth almost immediately after launching it, following reporting from 404 Media. Additionally, Meta turned off the aforementioned deepfaking tool for Instagram users after three days of public outcry and viral videos with millions of views criticizing the feature. There’s also a growing rejection of generative AI in marketing materials. Many people online reacted negatively to major brands, like McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, incorporating generative AI visuals into their ad spots. Even local shops see backlash for promoting events using AI-generated posters.