Hideo Kojima Expresses Skepticism About AI’s Artistic Potential: “I Don’t Expect to See It in My Lifetime”

Last month, a generative AI version of Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima made an appearance in a brief promotional video for a Prada art installation featuring the renowned game developer alongside filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, who also portrayed the character Heartman in Kojima’s latest title. This left many fans feeling uneasy. Recently, Kojima shared his thoughts on the contentious technology.

“Art is life,” he expressed in a profile about the art exhibit. “But in 50 years, 100 years, I don’t know. Maybe AI could create art, but while I live, I don’t think I’ll see it. I’m not interested in it.” He continued, “We’ll find a good way, a good path to how we use technology, and it’s really up to young people on how we use it.”

His comments were made in the context of a larger event called Satellites II, which follows a similar gathering that took place in Tokyo, Japan. This event serves as a reflection on analog technology, music, and the deep friendship between Kojima and Refn that transcends language and time.

Despite his active social media presence and a growing array of creative projects, Kojima’s stance on the current technological trends has been somewhat ambiguous. While some developers are embracing generative AI, others are rejecting it, leaving Kojima’s position within this landscape unclear.

In a recently discovered email from 2018, Gabe Newell mentioned, “Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear series, a real visionary in our field) was here at Valve talking about his new game [Death Stranding], and he mentioned the importance he places on future work in AI… He was talking about how much he wants to go into space, and I offered to introduce him to you.”

Last fall, in an interview, Kojima envisioned “a future where [he stays] one step ahead; creating together with AI,” referring to the technology as a “friend.” He indicated that generative AI wouldn’t replace creativity but could be utilized to “boost efficiency.”

He reiterated this perspective, stating that AI serves best as a support for creative tasks, emphasizing that humans need to remain integral to the artistic process. It will be interesting to see how this philosophy influences his upcoming game, the stealth action-adventure title Physint.