The question of copyright, lawsuits, and AI is going to very quickly come to a head.

Creatives from artists to comedians are filing lawsuits, staging online ‘protests’, and suing various AI-based companies for copyright infringement. In 2022, ArtStation members staged a online campaign against AI generated artwork by posting ‘No AI art’ images in their portfolios.

China entered the fray by recently announced their interim measure to govern AI generated text, pictures, audio, video, and other content [Update: Wow – already redacted, check here or here]. It covers generating AI content in PRC, but may be unclear about what foreign companies can import into China.

But it doesn’t stop there. Now we can add game developers to the fray.

Recently Steam devs were seeing their games with AI generated content blocked from Steam. Valve responded that it was not able to “ship games for which the developer does not have all the necessary rights” or for “utilizing AI tech.”

In a statement to IGN, Valve spokesperson Kaci Aitchison Boyle clarified the position. While developers can use these AI technologies in their work with appropriate commercial licenses, they can not infringe on existing copyrights.

Aitchison Boyle emphasized that Valve is not attempting to discourage the use of AI but the confusion arose due to Valve’s ongoing efforts to incorporate AI technology into its existing review process while ensuring compliance with copyright laws.