Besides the horrendous campaign, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has received significant backlash from fans for its usage of AI-generated images in its Calling Cards. However, it’s also attracted criticism from United States Congressman Ro Khanna, who called for “regulations that prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs to extract greater profits.”
“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,” he said on Twitter. In a follow-up, Khanna said that he’s for “tech adoption,” but that there’s a “need to learn the lessons of globalization and the government can play a role with tax-neutral policy and hiring of those displaced.”
“Innovation and technological advance is patriotic and good for humanity, provided it serves people. So we need to think about how it is adopted and how people can still have meaningful work and independence.”
Alongside tax reforms to “discourage excessive automation” and guardrails for “worker input before deployment,” Khanna advocated for supporting “unions and workers to bargain for workers’ benefiting from productivity gains.”
Of course, Call of Duty is far from the first title to embrace AI usage, regardless of how egregious. ARC Raiders recently courted controversy for its AI voices, which Embark’s parent company, Nexon, attempted to justify. NCSoft also confirmed that the recently announced Horizon Steel Frontiers, an MMORPG based on Sony’s IP, features “extensive” use of the technology. Even Square Enix is looking to delve further into its use in the future for QA.
These are only a few examples, and as the technology evolves in the future, one has to wonder whether calls for regulation will grow even louder. Stay tuned for further updates in the meantime.
