Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks Is Talking About AI in D&D Again

Chris Cocks, the CEO of Hasbro, is talking about the usage of AI in Dungeons & Dragons again. In a recent interview with Semafor, Cocks once again brought up potential usage of AI in D&D and other Hasbro brands. Cocks described himself as an "AI bull" and offered up a potential subscription service that uses AI to enrich D&D campaigns as a way to integrate AI. The full section of Semafor's interview is below:

Smartphone screens are not the toy industry’s only technology challenge. Cocks uses artificial intelligence tools to generate storylines, art, and voices for his D&D characters and hails AI as “a great leveler for user-generated content.”

Current AI platforms are failing to reward creators for their work, “but I think that’s solvable,” he says, describing himself as “an AI bull” who believes the technology will extend the reach of Hasbro’s brands. That could include subscription services letting other Dungeon Masters enrich their D&D campaigns, or offerings to let parents customize Peppa Pig animations. “It’s supercharging fandom,” he says, “and I think that’s just net good for the brand.”

The D&D design team and others involved with D&D at Wizards of the Coast have repeatedly stood by a statement posted back in 2023 that said that D&D was made by humans for humans. The full, official stance on AI in D&D by the D&D team can be found below.

For 50 years, D&D has been built on the innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented people who sculpt a beautiful, creative game. That isn't changing. Our internal guidelines remain the same with regards to artificial intelligence tools: We require artists, writers, and creatives contributing to the D&D TTRPG to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final D&D products. We work with some of the most talented artists and creatives in the world, and we believe those people are what makes D&D great.

 

[Mistwell]

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Had to look this up, "Walter Benjamin predicted that the technical reproduction of art would lead to a breaking of art’s spell (‘Entzauberung’). Art became less obscure, more accessible and thus less magical because of technical reproduction. … "

 

[darjr]

Nope. Do not want. No.

Ugh

 

[beaumontsebos]

AI is cheaper, faster and more productive than humans. No corporation in an uber-capitalist economy is going to stand by and not use it, no matter what they say.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

AI is cheaper, faster and more productive than humans.

For extremely specific tasks.

 

[Cergorach]

ChatGPT won't have all that in their database. Indeed, much of it has never been issued in digital text it could access.

All the RPG books and novels for D&D have been available on the internet. Anything scanned got OCRed. The question of course is, was ChatGPT version x trained on that? But what about all the AI/LLM models? And even IF none were trained on that particular information, I expect that someone else will train an AI/LLM model on that before WotC does...

 

[BruceWright]

Yeah I mean I default to this: What's the funniest joke ever written by AI. Not a standard joke like a pun, and not a joke where it changed three words from an old George Carlin routine. A really novel, funny, pithy joke.

It doesn't know what's funny, because it can't laugh.

 

[CleverNickName]

Yeah, that's going to be a hard NO from me. If/when this becomes more than shareholder posturing, I'll find something else to spend my time and money on.

 

[BruceWright]

All the RPG books and novels for D&D have been available on the internet. Anything scanned got OCRed. The question of course is, was ChatGPT version x trained on that? But what about all the AI/LLM models? And even IF none were trained on that particular information, I expect that someone else will train an AI/LLM model on that before WotC does...

Yeah I bet chatGPT already has 50 years of D&D-owned ip all up in it. Not scraped "legally" of course.

 

[cbwjm]

I want AI to help me with drudgery. When I can't figure out why my code at work isn't working, asking AI for help is a whole lot faster than spending 30 minutes combing Stack Overflow for the answer to that question. I do not want AI to replace my creative efforts. Those are a joy, and one of the ways I get to express myself. If I'm stuck on an adventure idea, I want to go look at a book, look at art, ask someone for advice, think it over myself.

I use it for help with basic coding for work stuff, but I also use if for creativity. I find it can be a lot of fun bouncing ideas off chatgpt and seeing what comes out of it.

 

[M.T. Black]

This is a hugely disruptive moment in the humanities. When I look at the eye-watering sums being invested by the biggest companies in the world, I find it hard to believe that AI is a nothingburger and we will all go back to normal in a few years. I will happily eat my words if proven wrong.

I find the technology fascinating - but also profoundly unsettling when I think about the implications for the various sorts of paid work I do.

My own experiments (across a broad range of fields) yield the occasional bit of silver amidst lots of dross. AI often spits out results that are humdrum, cliched, and formulaic. But here's a nasty truth - a lot of the content produced (even professionally) in the RPG industry is cliched and formulaic. For example, we are seeing an endless procession of slight variants on D&D produced (I'm guilty of this myself). Many of these products could probably be produced by a machine now or in the near future.

I think that truly creative and innovative RPG work (like Yoon Suin or Alice is Missing) will always find a market. But I think much of what is currently published may be under threat.