Hideo Kojima Expresses Concerns About DLSS 5, Believing AI Lacks Understanding of Creative Intentions

Hideo Kojima’s views on AI seem to be in constant flux. Back in 2025, the director of Metal Gear Solid likened the significance of AI to the monumental shift from 2D to 3D in gaming. However, just a few months later, he referred to AI as a “friend” that could enhance efficiency in game development.

In May 2026, Kojima appeared in an AI-generated advertisement for a fashion brand, sharing the spotlight with Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn, whose likeness was used for the character Heartman in the Death Stranding series. Yet, by June 2026, he had a change of heart, expressing disinterest in AI: “Maybe AI could create art, but while I live, I don’t think I’ll see it. I’m not interested in it.”

Recently, the latest episode of Kojima’s KOJI10 podcast dropped, marking the first in the series to feature official English subtitles. After celebrating the one-year anniversary of Death Stranding 2, Kojima discussed NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 technology: “NVIDIA has a technology for its graphics cards; it’s called DLSS 5. It can make CG characters that were close to the uncanny valley look like real people. That caused a buzz.”

And “buzz” is an understatement, as the leaked version of NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 tech from late August sparked a mixed reaction. Given that official support for DLSS 5 in Death Stranding 2 hasn’t been confirmed, it’s likely Kojima was referencing the leaked tech during his comments.

“People kept saying, ‘You don’t need this for [Death Stranding 2], it looks a little odd with it on,’” Kojima noted. “They said it didn’t need it[…]That’s where things are heading. AI will be built into everything, including cameras, and will automatically enhance things, I suppose—improve the image.”

However, Kojima revealed that his stance on DLSS 5 and AI upscaling is more complex than he initially suggested. Given his passion for cinema and music, he expressed concern that AI might not grasp the “intentions” behind creative works, potentially leading to 4K remasters of films and classic albums that stray from the original artists’ visions.

“As a creator, I have mixed feelings about this technology,” he shared. “I think we might stop doing remakes one day. People still restore old films in 4K by hand, for instance. AI could do that easily. But as the person who made the original, I wouldn’t want someone changing it too much. There was a reason I chose a particular lighting setup. It would be different if AI understood those intentions[…]I wouldn’t like that. Unless I was controlling the AI in my own work, that may be different. I don’t know, though. This will probably become standard[…]But I don’t much like that idea.”

While Kojima previously suggested in a 2025 interview that “remakes and sequels” to films “will be made by AI,” his perspective on this trend appears to have soured over time. At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if Kojima takes a firm anti-AI stance by 2027.