Tim Sweeney Makes Bombastic "hate mob" Claim About Steam AI Disclosures

"Forcing developers to write a political statement to be used against them."

Stop us if you've heard this before, but the head of a monolithic mega corporation wants consumers to feel bad that he can't just delete human labor everywhere he can. Such is the case with Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games who has come out with a bombastic allegation against Valve over the use of AI. Replying to a post on X, Sweeney said the following about Steam AI disclosure requirements for developers who publish on the platform:

Sweeney expanded a bit in another post:

Of course, the problem here is that Sweeney, with an estimated worth of between four and five billion dollars, and his company Epic Games, worth roughly $22 billion, are not hard up for cash. Yet he, and many other heads of creative companies in video games, Hollywood, and elsewhere, are very excited about generative AI tech that just happens to cut jobs and, thus, reduce budgets. Oddly, Sweeney's framing doesn't mention any of this, instead calling this a "political" issue. It's not, unless keeping creative human beings employed is suddenly "political."

Naturally, Sweeney isn't getting much support from consumers. A casual perusal of the replies beneath either of Sweeney's posts reveals countless people speaking against his over-the-top statement, a statement one can easily assume is meant to make consumers feel guilty about their right to be selective in which products they choose to spend their money on. It's pretty outrageous to refer to customers not wanting AI-generated content as a "hate mob," but as is common, corporate America is quick to use the most inflammatory labels to emotionally manipulate the public.

Not to belabor the point, but here's another statement from Sweeney talking about Valve's policy:

I think it's really irresponsible of Valve. They shouldn't do it, because it makes it much, much, much harder for a game developer to have a chance of success. You have to choose from either not using tools that can make you way more productive, and probably failing due to competition that does.

Again, the argument is framed to present the use of AI as a necessity without mentioning the human cost whatsoever. "Way more productive" in what way? By pressing a magic button to design characters, rig models, animate them, etc. without the need for a human being's skill and knowledge? Sweeney's stance isn't one that most consumers have any sympathy for, but hey, that's just this writer's opinion. What say you? Share with us on social media.

Source: Time Sweeney X Account