Take-Two CEO says AI could lead to better-paying video-game jobs
If you work in the video-game industry, learning how to make good use of generative AI could soon benefit your bottom line, Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software, told Business Insider.
Generative AI will help "in eliminating mundane work and allowing our teams to work on higher-level, more interesting work," he said in an interview Thursday after the "Grand Theft Auto" publisher delivered fiscal first quarter results that exceeded guidance and analysts' expectations. "I don't think I know anyone who will object to that because higher-level work is usually more highly compensated work."
Zelnick was named chairman of Take-Two in 2007 and became CEO in 2011. In addition to "Grand Theft Auto," the company is behind hit video-game franchises such as "Red Dead Redemption," "NBA 2K," "Civilization," and "Words With Friends." Earlier in his career, Zelnick held executive positions at companies such as BMG Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Pictures.
Speaking with Business Insider, Zelnick, 68, declined to specify how Take-Two is using generative AI. His remarks come as other big-company CEOs, such as Amazon's Andy Jassy, have issued more downbeat outlooks about the technology's potential impact on employment.
"It's hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company," Jassy wrote in a memo to employees in June that he shared publicly online.
Zelnick said his optimistic outlook applies to more than just interactive entertainment, a global industry forecast to generate nearly $190 billion in game-software revenue this year, according to analytics firm Newzoo. He also expects AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT to create more jobs for the world at large.
"The history of technology is that technology increases employment. You literally can find no example of where new technology has decreased overall employment," he said. "Anytime there are new innovations, there's a cohort of people screaming and yelling about how the good old days are going to disappear, and then what happens? The world gets better, safer, more abundant, and unemployment increases."
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The statements contained herein, which are not historical facts, including statements relating to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.'s ("Take-Two," the "Company," "we," "us," or similar pronouns) outlook, are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and may be identified by words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "projects," "seeks," "should," "will," or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for our future business and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may vary materially from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of risks and uncertainties including risks relating to the timely release and significant market acceptance of our games; the risks of conducting business internationally, including as a result of unforeseen geopolitical events; the impact of changes in interest rates by the Federal Reserve and other central banks, including on our short-term investment portfolio; the impact of inflation; volatility in foreign currency exchange rates; our dependence on key management and product development personnel; our dependence on our NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto products and our ability to develop other hit titles; our ability to leverage opportunities on PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S; factors affecting our mobile business, such as player acquisition costs; and the ability to maintain acceptable pricing levels on our games. 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