// PC GAMER — GAMING
The AI posting war is heating up: 'Please, leave me behind,' says artist who got into it with Epic CEO Tim Sweeney on X
Two factions of gamers and game developers are at an impasse.
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Kenney, an artist known for giving away thousands of free game assets, did not expect to wind up directly arguing with specific billionaires after telling off billionaires in general in a recent X post. But a few hours after he encouraged other artists not to give in to pressure to use generative AI, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was in his replies.
"This is bullshit, Kenney," Sweeney told the artist, concluding his rebuttal with a cute double entendre: "I've upped my expectations of AI. Up yours!"
Richest-person-in-the-world Elon Musk also chimed in to back up Sweeney. Hundreds of other comments on the exchange inevitably followed, spanning the full spectrum of AI opinions.
Kenney's contentious post was: "Don't let billionaires convince you slop is the future. They're used to managing & directing, not making things themselves. Of course they can't see the difference. They don't understand your love for the craft. Keep making personal, beautiful games. You've got my support 💖"
The artist had not had Sweeney in mind when he wrote the post; it was a response to something Musk had said. Kenney expected it to be read by other artists who may feel pressured to use generative AI despite objecting to it.
"I think AI has some benefit but there's just too many problems with it that I find it immoral to use in its current state," Kenney told PC Gamer in a chat after that exchange. "Whether it's the environmental issues, data centers, theft during training, or the negative impact it has on pretty much every industry."
Sweeney is not known to keep his opinions to himself, but the Epic CEO has been particularly active in his defense of generative AI on X recently.
As a provider of technology to the whole industry, I see it as Epic's job and my job to make the positive case for it.