David Gaider, co-creator of the Dragon Age series, said generative AI is a "virulent plague" and its results are "soulless," arguing the technology fails at creative iteration, relies on plagiarized data, and threatens the careers of junior talent across the games industry. The veteran narrative designer's blunt condemnation adds a high-profile voice to mounting opposition from writers and developers who see genAI as a threat to craft and quality.
Gaider, who was lead writer on Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, and Dragon Age: Inquisition and a senior designer on Baldur's Gate II and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, gave his views to GamesRadar's investigation into developer pushback. The large language models behind such tools are the focus of rigorous study in skill-building programs like Generative AI & LLM Training, which help professionals understand their mechanics and ethical pitfalls.
Plagiarism at the core
Gaider's first objection is the training process. "I think the fact that generative AI is frequently trained on data regardless of whether creators or owners have agreed to have their data pillaged in this manner opens up any use of it to all sorts of future legal issues - even if one chooses to ignore the moral implications, which one really shouldn't," he said. He dismissed the defense that AI models need unlicensed data to function, calling the argument uncompelling.
The drudgery reversal
Instead of automating repetitive tasks and leaving creative work to humans, Gaider observed that many workplaces now see AI doing the writing and workers scrubbing the output. "It wouldn't be so bad if generative AI was seen more as an assistant, doing the drudgery while leaving more important tasks for the worker, but we seem to be seeing more and more of the reverse: the AI is set to do the important work and the worker is around to 'clean up'," he said. He also warned that eliminating entry-level writing duties removes essential training for early-career professionals. "How are we going to train up the next generation of devs if we eliminate every entry-level task?"
Iteration and learning
The Dragon Age writer called genAI "terrible at iteration," questioning its value in prototyping. "What's the point of creating prototypes with AI when the final result is that nobody on the team has actually learned anything about how to make the final product?" He added, "In all my time as a narrative designer I've never once encountered a situation where editing an inferior product took less time than simply throwing it out and redoing it."
Gaider's most pointed comments hold the entire practice to account. "Until some regulation is in place? Until we can be confident that it's only trained on legally sourced data? Until the people making decisions regarding its use finally realize that it's not the source of cheap labour replacement they want it to be, and don't cut off their teams at the kneecaps to force it on them while expecting unrealistic results? It should be treated like the virulent plague it is."
Why this matters for writers
Gaider's critique resonates far beyond game studios. Writers facing pressure to adopt generative AI as a cheap substitute can extract clear action points from his stance: verify that any model was trained on properly licensed data, push back on the expectation that you'll become a "cleaner" of machine-generated content, and protect the small tasks that build real craft. For those aiming to engage with the technology on their own terms, resources like AI for Writers Courses offer practical guidance on ethical and effective use.
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