We previously discussed WOTC’s tangles with writers’ rights, but how does that apply to AI?
Cocks threw out two ideas for how AI might be used: “new player introduction” and “emergent storytelling.” They are both very different but related proposals, and all of them begin with authors and artists’ works being used to generate a new outcome every time.
New Player Introduction surely involves art, maps, and text. In that case, artists and writers would need to be considered in that context. That said, this is a little more focused than Emergent Storytelling, where the (fantasy) sky is (literally) the limit.
The question is: what text and art is the AI using to generate this emergent storytelling?
Who is the “we” in this conversation? Artists and writers of course. How their content is used to feed an AI is a matter of speculation. Perhaps more relevant is if every creator during those 50 years signed contracts granting Hasbro rights to let an AI farm their content.
Odds are high they did. If WOTC learned anything from the kerfuffle over the Dragon Magazine CD-ROM Archive, it’s that they should include digital, perpetual rights in any work-for-hire contracts for their creative contributors. For a guidepost of what this might look like in a contract, WOTC has a legal page of General Terms, where it lists four different times (for user rights, unsolicited idea submissions, streaming, and user content) the following:
The words "reproduce, adapt, modify" and "create derivative works of" seem to apply to AI, as well as "rights to credit for the material or ideas." (I'm not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice). In short, WOTC probably has something like this in their contracts, and if so, has the right to reuse the content they paid a contractor or employee for, including to train AI.
Both the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) recently engaged in collective bargaining on behalf of their members when it comes to AI. SAG-AFTRA is currently on strike against video game companies after 18 months of negotiations over the use of AI and game performers.
Tabletop game writers have a variety of options too, including the Authors Guild (covering freelance writers who have published 3+ pieces or made $5,000 in the past 18 months), National Writers Union (representing web content, work-for-hire, and contract writers), Writers Guild of America East (representing the online media industry), Communication Workers of America (including video game developers for World of Warcraft and Bethesda Game Studios), and Game Workers Unite (who counts tabletop role-playing games as part of its membership).
Whether or not game writers join a union, one thing’s for sure: they should read the fine print on their contracts.
This Again
Judging from CEO Chris Cocks’ latest statements about generative artificial intelligence at a recent Goldmach Sachs event, it’s clear Hasbro is not going to give up on its plans to use AI to create content for its properties. The question is how writer and artist rights will be protected in the process.Cocks threw out two ideas for how AI might be used: “new player introduction” and “emergent storytelling.” They are both very different but related proposals, and all of them begin with authors and artists’ works being used to generate a new outcome every time.
New Player Introduction
In the case of “New Player Introduction” this is likely a generative AI who can answer questions, take players and game masters through an introductory game, or otherwise act as a “co-DM” for the dungeon master.New Player Introduction surely involves art, maps, and text. In that case, artists and writers would need to be considered in that context. That said, this is a little more focused than Emergent Storytelling, where the (fantasy) sky is (literally) the limit.
Emergent Storytelling
“Emergent Storytelling” is an outgrowth of “emergent gameplay” in which complex situations in role-playing games emerge from the interaction of simple game mechanics. That is, while Dungeons & Dragons has a set of core rules, the outcomes in campaigns are massively varied and usually stray far from what’s included in those rules. Of emergent gameplay spins “emergent narrative,” in which the game does not use a pre-planned structure at all. That is, every game is unique, every situation is potentially random from a list of near-infinite possibilities, and an AI would be constantly choosing what happens next in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style-system that happens seamlessly behind the scenes.The question is: what text and art is the AI using to generate this emergent storytelling?
The Fine Print
Generative AI is a random numbers machine, using percentages to guess every word it responds with based on a vast database of user feedback what the best and most appropriate answer is. It is only as good as the data it’s trained on, and Cocks has made it clear that the company has an advantage because it “owns” a lot of content:Who is the “we” in this conversation? Artists and writers of course. How their content is used to feed an AI is a matter of speculation. Perhaps more relevant is if every creator during those 50 years signed contracts granting Hasbro rights to let an AI farm their content.
Odds are high they did. If WOTC learned anything from the kerfuffle over the Dragon Magazine CD-ROM Archive, it’s that they should include digital, perpetual rights in any work-for-hire contracts for their creative contributors. For a guidepost of what this might look like in a contract, WOTC has a legal page of General Terms, where it lists four different times (for user rights, unsolicited idea submissions, streaming, and user content) the following:
The words "reproduce, adapt, modify" and "create derivative works of" seem to apply to AI, as well as "rights to credit for the material or ideas." (I'm not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice). In short, WOTC probably has something like this in their contracts, and if so, has the right to reuse the content they paid a contractor or employee for, including to train AI.
What to Do About It
It’s undeniable that generative AI is built on the labor of humans so that labor is potentially no longer going to be used or paid for. Like the lawsuits over the Dragon Magazine CD-ROM Archive, unless you’re an IP lawyer like Dave Kenzer of Kenzer & Company, your best bet as a contractor is likely to be part of an organization who can advocate collectively on your behalf. This certainly worked for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) on behalf of its fiction writers, who procured a settlement from WOTC. Notably, the one group not represented in settlements from WOTC over the CD-ROM Archive rights were game designers, who either had permissive contracts or lacked the organizational will of Kenzer & Company and the SSFWA.Both the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) recently engaged in collective bargaining on behalf of their members when it comes to AI. SAG-AFTRA is currently on strike against video game companies after 18 months of negotiations over the use of AI and game performers.
Tabletop game writers have a variety of options too, including the Authors Guild (covering freelance writers who have published 3+ pieces or made $5,000 in the past 18 months), National Writers Union (representing web content, work-for-hire, and contract writers), Writers Guild of America East (representing the online media industry), Communication Workers of America (including video game developers for World of Warcraft and Bethesda Game Studios), and Game Workers Unite (who counts tabletop role-playing games as part of its membership).
Whether or not game writers join a union, one thing’s for sure: they should read the fine print on their contracts.
