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At Square Enix’s shareholders’ meeting held on June 21, CEO Takashi Kiryu made statements regarding the company’s stance on the use of generative AI technology in creative fields. Kiryu’s remarks suggest that he may be “changing course” to a more cautious and user-conscious approach on the matter, especially compared to some of his past statements.

According to independent reporter michsuzuki, when asked by shareholders about Square Enix’s use of AI and related concerns over intellectual property infringement, Kiryu responded: “AI itself has tremendous potential. However, there are also many risks involved. We have introduced a flow whereby AI-related tools are used internally only after being properly examined.” Kiryu goes on to explain that Square Enix is proactively utilizing AI technology in fields unrelated to creativity to boost the efficiency of its operations.

On the other hand, when it comes to the use of AI in creative fields, Kiryu comments that he is aware of the matter being “extremely delicate” and that he will stay in tune with public opinion going forward. While these statements do leave room for interpretation and are far from an explicit yes or no, they are a significant change from some of the CEO’s past remarks on the topic.

In his New Year’s Letter from January 2024, Kiryu stated that Square Enix would be “aggressive in applying AI and other cutting-edge technologies to both our content development and our publishing functions.” He also opined that “generative AI has the potential not only to reshape what we create, but also to fundamentally change the processes by which we create, including programming.”

In contrast, the CEO’s latest words suggest an outlook that is more concerned about not making the wrong decisions and upsetting audiences with generative AI. Square Enix’s Foamstars, which released in February this year, received significant backlash for the use of generative AI for some of its assets, especially outside of Japan.

In the past fiscal year (April 2023 – March 2024) Square Enix saw their net profit decline by 70% to 14.9 billion yen. In order to overcome this situation, the company has announced various changes in policy, including focusing on multiplatform releases, in-house development and quality over quantity. Perhaps Kiryu’s cautious statement regarding generative AI is also indicative of a change in policy.

Square Enix CEO switches to a more cautious approach to generative AI use - AUTOMATON WEST

Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu's latest remarks about the company's use of AI may indicate a more apprehensive attitude on the matter.

automaton-media.com

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

They have a bad habit of getting really excited about the next buzzword and then suddenly - painfully - realizing that it either is totally overblown or could spell their demise if it works out.

 

[SJRB]

Guess they discovered “AI” is basically nothing but a complex set of function approximations and image generation technology is nowhere near good enough to use in active development without heavy moderation, making the whole thing moot.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

They have a bad habit of getting really excited about the next buzzword and then suddenly - painfully - realizing that it either is totally overblown or could spell their demise if it works out.

This is a mistake repeated by many execs and mainstream media. Not long ago it was "the power of the cloud" and a legion of idiots parroted that mantra.

 

[tamago84]

No one wants to see 6-7 fingered humans in ultra high contrast and saturation

 

[dotnotbot]

They only needed 6 months to realize that, good news.

I'm afraid EA and Ubisoft won't be this quick.

 

[Ozzie666]

Square was excited about NFT, the last great buzzword.

 

[Hero_Select]

Square Enix have no idea what they're doing. Lmao.

 

[EDMIX]

Square Enix have no idea what they're doing. Lmao.

Nah, I disagree.

I think they are wise to look to the future and be open minded.

Remember, it was taking that chance with that sound chip and CD with Sony that led to FFVII being on PS1 and saving them big time.

Risk can be good, I'd say this is better then being closeminded about all things or something. So, I like this version of Square..(businesswise anyway)

 

[Hudo]

The only buzzword they should chase after is "good games".

 

[IAmRei]

They have best artstyle and artists, both visual and music. They seriously dont need AI. AI just make their works soulless.

 

[Boss Mog]

I can see Nomura's query now : "A character with lots of useless belt buckles everywhere".

 

[Hero_Select]

Nah, I disagree.

I think they are wise to look to the future and be open minded.

Remember, it was taking that chance with that sound chip and CD with Sony that led to FFVII being on PS1 and saving them big time.

Risk can be good, I'd say this is better then being closeminded about all things or something. So, I like this version of Square..(businesswise anyway)

Nah, I disagree.

I think they are wise to look to the future and be open minded.

Remember, it was taking that chance with that sound chip and CD with Sony that led to FFVII being on PS1 and saving them big time.

Risk can be good, I'd say this is better then being closeminded about all things or something. So, I like this version of Square..(businesswise anyway)

Final Fantasy is one of my fav. franchises so I want Square Enix to do well but they make a lot of dumb decisions.

Exclusively isn't working out for them. Then the block chain BS and the president came out saying they're going to focus on that. Then NFTs. And now that the hype has died down they've backpedaled.

"Among those, we are most focused on blockchain entertainment, to which we have devoted aggressive investment and business development efforts."

 

[Hugare]

Nah, I disagree.

I think they are wise to look to the future and be open minded.

Remember, it was taking that chance with that sound chip and CD with Sony that led to FFVII being on PS1 and saving them big time.

Risk can be good, I'd say this is better then being closeminded about all things or something. So, I like this version of Square..(businesswise anyway)

That was a whole different company compared to today (literally, they were Squaresoft)

I wouldnt say that following the current trend is being risky. It may be risky (in a dumb way), like loosing money with GAAS games like Foamstars, instead of risking with innovative ideas that could end up being the new huge IP of tomorrow.

And it sometimes lead to dumb decisions such as investing huge money on NFT l, a trend that wasnt customer friendly at all, instead of investing money in games that people want to play.

 

[Bring Back Scalebound]

Well, whatever they are going to do, if I know that the next Final Fantasy game has content that wasn't built by an artist/developer, I'm completely out...

AI is a cancer to art and human expression.

 

[MrRenegade]

The AI tooling is nonexistent. The tech is out there, but we need a few more years until the sector gets familiar with the underlying tech, and then release proper AI based tools. Until then... it's nothing more than the new VR, 3DTV and other hyped up, but unusable shit.