U.S. congressman calls out alleged AI usage in Call of Duty
U.S. congressman Ro Khanna has denounced the alleged use of AI-generated imagery in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
As spotted by IGN, Khanna criticized Activision Blizzard's alleged use of gen AI in the game, primarily focusing on calling card images to decorate users' profiles.
"We need regulations that prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs to extract greater profits," the congressman wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Artists at these companies need to have a say in how AI is deployed. They should share in the profits. And there should be a tax on mass displacement."
In a follow-up post, Khanna said that there should be support for "unions and workers to bargain for workers' benefitting from productivity gains," rather than pushing for a "Luddite complete ban." The tax reforms, according to their thinking, should be in place to discourage excessive automation, and add guardrails to protect worker input before deployment.
Throughout 2025, game developers have not been warming up to generative AI. Moreover, some devs think that the quality of games will worsen because of it.
The congressman's stance, according to a response to a user who said that curbing AI investment could stifle innovation, is that "innovation and technological advance is patriotic and good for humanity provided it serves people."
As such, according to Khanna, the tax code should involve several items. It should prevent incentivizing excessive automation. There should be working input councils so AI is used for augmentation, as well as rules so workers share in AI productivity gains. There should be a tax on mass displacement and guardrails against them, as well as a plan to hire young graduates or displaced workers.
These provisions, then, would "ensure a technology revolution benefits ordinary Americans."
Activision Blizzard said it uses AI tools to 'empower and support' its teamsOver at the Steam store page for Black Ops 7, the AI generated content disclosure notes that "our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in-game assets," but there's no further clarification on the matter.
Activision Blizzard isn't being that clear in official statements, either. In a response to PC Gamer, the company said the following: "Like so many around the world, we use a variety of digital tools, including AI tools, to empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players. Our creative process continues to be led by the talented individuals in our studios."
As more notable game releases receive criticism for alleged use of gen AI, companies and executives keep finding new ways of justifying the use cases for the technology. Just last week, Nexon CEO Junghun Lee said in an interview that "it's important to assume that every game company is now using AI."
This was in regard to criticism directed at Arc Raiders, which Nexon published, for its use of AI. The disclosure on the game's Steam store page rings a similar tune to Black Ops 7: "During the development process, we may use procedural and AI-based tools to assist with content creation. In all such cases, the final product reflects the creativity and expression of our own development team."
