David Gaider, the former lead writer for the Dragon Age series, is cautioning game studios against adopting generative AI, warning it will create unreliable workflows and long-term damage to how new developers are trained. His comments land at a time when many writers, narrative designers, and other creative professionals are watching the technology's encroachment on their crafts with growing unease.
Gaider's core objections
In an interview with GamesRadar, Gaider said AI tools are inherently unpredictable and their outputs often inaccurate. When those tools introduce errors, production teams can get dragged into endless troubleshooting. "It would be frustrating as hell. It's not ready for prime time," he said, and he pushed back on the idea that executives pushing for adoption truly understand the technology's limits. "There's just a lot of executives who really, really want it to be."
The threat to the next generation of creators
One of Gaider's sharpest points targeted the common claim that AI can handle repetitive or entry-level work. He argued that removing those tasks removes the primary path for junior developers to learn their craft. "How are we going to train up the next generation of devs if we eliminate every entry-level task?" he said. Beyond workflow complaints, he expressed deep discomfort with the way training data is sourced, noting that artists never consented to having "their data pillaged" to build AI models.
Other developers weigh in
Gaider is not alone in his skepticism. Iron Lung and Dusk creator David Szymanski said he is not categorically opposed to the technology itself but refuses to ignore "all the ethical concerns about plagiarism, environmental impact, and job security." Meanwhile, the executive producer of Marvel Rivals confirmed his team intentionally avoided AI tools to keep the game's assets from being "poisoned." Sega's Crazy Taxi: World Tour, by contrast, started with generative AI for background assets and ideation, though series creator Kenji Kanno later clarified that all final work would be completed by human artists and designers.
Why this matters for writers
The arguments Gaider is making inside game studios apply directly to writing professions outside them. A reliance on AI for early drafts, placeholder copy, or concept generation can quietly erode the roles where junior writers build their skills. Gaider's warning cuts across the broader creative economy: if the industry strips away the entry points for learning, the pipeline of experienced narrative professionals weakens. For writers following these shifts, AI for Writers resources can help clarify where the technology fails and where it actually assists - but the core message remains that no tool yet replaces the judgment developed through doing the work yourself.
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