WotC Hasbro CEO optimistic about AI in D&D and MTG’s future

[FitzTheRuke]

And they wonder why we all voted down WotC in the recent poll.

 

[Azzy]

I think part of it might be the amount of jumping already with no safeguards in place.

Yep. Corporations will jump feet first into a woodchipper if they think they can make short term fat stacks exploiting new technology (and their employees and their consumers—but that's another rant). Without strong regulations (and sometimes even with them—stares hard at Boeing) to smack them on the nose, corporations will proverbially piss on the rug and then beg for a treat. American history (post-Civil War) has a showcase of corps endangering the lives and livelihoods of real people.

 

[Azzy]

Ding! Got it.

They shouldn't be exploring AI as a way to generate content, they should be exploring AI as a way to replace the C-suite.

I like the way you think!

 

[Charlaquin]

And they wonder why we all voted down WotC in the recent poll.

Well, I’m sure the marketing department and creative teams (those who are still left of them, at least) are all too aware of it, which is probably why they put the poll out in the first place. To show to these product leads and say “see? I’m not making this up, they really do hate what we’re doing right now!”

 

[KYRON45]

Really interesting insight from this is how he’s been working to shift Wizards from a “marketing-lead” model to a “product-lead” model, by “putting product-leaders in charge and giving them permission to break rules.” Sounds like a lot of corporate double-speak that ultimately translates to ignoring what the marketing team knows about the established audience’s desires in favor of selling more products at all costs. Which explains a lot of the godawful decisions WotC has suddenly been making, and gives context to the idea of factions with competing interests behind the scenes.

If D&D even has a marketing team; it needs replacing.

 

[Alzrius]

Like I said, I don't follow MtG much.

Well, maybe it's worth taking a few minutes to read up on what happened before you start pontificating about it, then. Because this...

Knocking on someone's door, asking for a product they should not have had and replacing it with another set

...is a gross mischaracterization of the events in question. From the linked article:

When [the Pinkerton agents] arrived, the agents allegedly demanded that oldschoolmtg turn over all cards belonging to the booster box. During the incident, the agents also reportedly disturbed the YouTuber's elderly neighbor while threatening oldschoolmtg and his family with possible imprisonment.

Another article notes:

In a video explainer published April 22nd, Cannon claims the agents threatened jail time, huge fines and other repercussions if he didn’t relinquish the “stolen product”, which reportedly upset his wife to the point of tears.

Now, you're perfectly entitled to whatever opinion you want to have about WotC. But if you don't know what happened with regards to certain circumstances, it's probably best not to describe those circumstances as benign.

 

[ichabod]

Well, I’m sure the marketing department and creative teams (those who are still left of them, at least) are all too aware of it, which is probably why they put the poll out in the first place. To show to these product leads and say “see? I’m not making this up, they really do hate what we’re doing right now!”

To which management will respond: "No, they're just not happy that we're not transitioning fast enough. This indicates that we need to crank up the AI and the monetization."

 

[Kannik]

Penny Arcade's take on the interview is rather amusing:

Hasbros - Penny Arcade

Videogaming-related online strip by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Includes news and commentary.

www.penny-arcade.com

Their previous post on the subject is particularly sharp and worthwhile remembering (both here and in general -- Boeing comes to mind):

"we may be the customers of Wizards of the Coast, but we are not the customers of its owner Hasbro. Hasbro is a publicly traded company, and its "customers" are not people who buy products but capital markets themselves."

Which is not great for both the designers at WotC and for us, again both here and in general. Also good to remember that this isn't inevitable or inviolable -- this extremeness is something that started to take hold in the late 70s, grew in speed in the 80s, and is definitively coming to roost at the moment. And with actions and laws it can be first tamed and later perhaps turned back to a middle path.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I don't get this inherent hatred for AI. Unlike blockchain and NFTs (which at their heart aren't bad ideas, the concept of trustless protocols is a good one, but also unfortunately so complicated for an average user that you end up having to put a traditional layer of web2 protocols on top of it to make it accessible to the general public, which kills the reason for doing it in the first place) AI has tremendous potential to enrich humanity and help us solve problems.

Yes there need to be safeguards in place (particularly in the area of protecting intellectual property), but I can't help feel that the knee jerk reaction to AI has the potential to cause the same harm that the rejection of nuclear power has done. Were it not for the rejection of nuclear power at the end of the 20th century, we wouldn't be dealing with global warming now and likely also wouldn't have a water crisis in so much of the world.

I think you're missing that it's not the AI that people don't trust* - it's the expected treatment of the actual humans involved (everyone from Hasbro and WotC's employees down to us purchasers of the product) that people object to. It's clear that every one of us will be exploited if it is possible in any way to exploit us. This is just seen as an admission of that.

Sure, it's possible that the AI could be used in good faith to create benefit for all - but c'mon - does that seem likely to you?

* Well, some people don't trust the AI itself, imagining a Matrix or Terminator-style future, but that's really silly. It's humans that we have to worry about.

 

[Charlaquin]

If D&D even has a marketing team; it needs replacing.

Yeah, that’s certainly how I would expect it to look when the marketing decisions are being made by “product leaders” instead of people with actual marketing experience.