Hideo Kojima Fears AI Could Take the Joy of Creating Away From Game Developers

Hideo Kojima believes AI can significantly speed up production, but he worries that creators could lose the pleasure of making things along the way. He compared the current situation to the arrival of Photoshop.

In an interview with Japanese outlet Game*Spark, the game designer said the industry has made a huge technological leap over the past 40 years. Modern tools give developers far more options, and AI continues that trend by helping them complete tasks faster and more efficiently.

Kojima compared AI to Photoshop and word processors, which made specialists’ work much easier when they first appeared. AI is now beginning to play a similar role, helping people finish tasks faster and meet deadlines.

Kojima does not believe maximum efficiency should necessarily be the main goal of development. He pointed to drawing as an example, saying the pleasure lies less in the finished picture than in the process of creating it. The same applies to model kits, puzzles, and LEGO sets, he said. The end result may be the same, but working on it is what brings enjoyment.

He said he worries that this part of creativity could disappear. In his view, giving a computer instructions such as “do this,” getting a result, and then saying “redo it like this” is not the most interesting way to create something.

Kojima also noted that the traditional game development process involves constant interaction between people. One person proposes ideas and sets tasks, while others bring them to life. Replacing that chain with computers does increase productivity, he said, but the approach is better suited to producing a finished product than to a full creative process.

Kojima predicted that the situation is unlikely to become critical in the next five to ten years. But if AI development continues without limits, he said, it could one day take a central role even in creative professions. Kojima joked that he probably would not live to see that time, leaving the younger generation to decide what the industry’s future should look like.