The rapid evolution of AI saw it grow for multiple industries around the world. The ability to describe something to an AI model and see it generate images and artwork based on the keyword is nothing short of incredible. It was only a matter of time before AI got into gaming. However, its foray into gaming is a complicated matter. One gaming platform, Steam, is bringing the hammer down on AI content in games.

Reports emerged of Steam owners Valve banning content that contained AI-generated artwork. This comes primarily due to the issue of copyright laws, with AI using a public database to generate results without having proper permissions.

Steam bans games featuring AI-generated art assets

With AI’s introduction into gaming, artwork creation became much simpler. It left developers with more time to work on other aspects of the game. Consequently, it could allow for more polished versions of games to be released. However, according to new reports, including one from Video Games Chronicle, Valve chose to ban games with AI-generated artwork. This was done to prevent copyright issues from arising.

The entire issue came to light when one developer spoke of his experience with Valve when it came to AI-generated artwork. This was gaming industry veteran Simon Carless. Valve outright refused approval for him. Valve asked the developers to show all the necessary rights used to generate the artwork, to ensure copyright problems do not plague the game later on.

They said, “After reviewing, we have identified intellectual property which appears to belong to one or more third parties. In particular, it contains art assets generated by artificial intelligence that appears to be relying on copyrighted material owned by third parties.”

While some may see Valve as being too cautious, their approach is a reminder of uncertainty in terms of how intellectual property laws work when it comes to AI. AI-generated artwork uses a database. However, because it may not have appropriate permissions from owners or the necessary rights, it leaves Valve exposed to copyright troubles later on.

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Valve did give the developer a chance to present necessary rights and permissions or remove those pieces of artwork from the game.

Valve highlights a major issue with AI-generated artwork in games

Valve’s demands to see necessary rights before using AI-generated content presents a real concern with using AI. The current situation is a gray area in terms of how laws govern its usage. Professionals from industries not limited to gaming are confused about how to proceed. In one instance, the Japanese government announced that the usage of datasets for training AI models does not violate copyright laws.

Valve’s caution saw them send back the title to the developer to rework. What really struck out was another game using AI models on the platform. The game titled This Girl Does Not Exist completely uses AI, which generates everything from the story to the characters. Because the game continues to stay on Steam, it looks like there is still no rule of procedure when it comes to dealing with AI-generated content on the gaming platform yet.

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What do you think of Valve bringing down the hammer on AI-generated content? Do you think it should continue? Let us know in the comments!