Dragon Age Creator David Gaider Calls Generative AI a 'Virulent Plague'
David Gaider, the BioWare veteran known for his work in the Dragon Age setting, has taken a firm stance against the increasing integration of generative AI in the gaming industry. In a recent interview, the writer—who most recently contributed to the roguelite deckbuilder Malys—labeled the technology a "virulent plague" that is being prematurely forced upon development teams.
Gaider’s critique focuses on the practical and ethical failures of using AI for narrative design. Rather than functioning as a helpful assistant for menial tasks, he argues that the current industry trend involves using AI to handle core creative work, leaving human writers to clean up the resulting "inferior product."
"In all my time as a narrative designer I've never once encountered a situation where editing an inferior product took less time than simply throwing it out and redoing it would have or resulted in anything better than mediocre," Gaider told GamesRadar.
The Impact on Junior Talent
Beyond the quality of the writing itself, Gaider raised concerns about the long-term health of the industry’s workforce. He noted that entry-level tasks are the primary training ground for junior developers. If these tasks are handed over to AI, the industry risks losing the ability to properly train the next generation of creators.
"How are we going to train up the next generation of devs if we eliminate every entry-level task?" Gaider asked.
He also highlighted the legal and moral hazards of training AI on datasets without the consent of the original creators. Gaider warned that reliance on these tools creates significant risks for studios, noting that a single "lazy developer" or an unvetted asset could lead to major legal issues for a project.
"Not Ready for Prime Time"
Gaider’s assessment of the technology is blunt: it is not currently ready for widespread use in professional game development. He attributes the current push for AI adoption to pressure from "moneymad executives" rather than any genuine improvement in efficiency or quality.
"It's not ready for prime time. There's just a lot of executives who really, really want it to be," Gaider said. Until the technology is properly regulated and trained on legally sourced data, he maintains that the industry should treat generative AI as a "virulent plague."