adminTroy Baker on AI offers a perspective on how artificial intelligence may affect creative work in games and beyond. The veteran actor says the technology should not automatically be treated as a threat, arguing that human performers and artists will continue to matter because their work is rooted in lived experience.
Troy Baker on AI and the role of artists
Baker, known for portraying Joel Miller in The Last of Us, Higgs Monaghan in Death Stranding, and the lead character in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, says that making art depends on artists. In his view, AI tools may produce content, but the presence of a tool does not remove a person’s ability to choose how they create or perform.
He cautions against dismissing or vilifying AI simply because it is changing the industry. Instead, Baker suggests recognizing that the technology exists while keeping human creative decisions central. For performers and producers, that means continuing to decide when a project calls for human craft and participation.
Practical takeaway: When assessing AI in a creative workflow, distinguish between using it to generate material and making the artistic choices that shape a finished work. Baker’s comments focus on the value of those human choices.
Why Baker believes audiences will seek authentic experiences
Baker acknowledges that people working in content creation have reasons to feel uncertain. He also recognizes that AI can generate convincing material quickly, including imagined scenes from historical events. However, he argues that producing content is not necessarily the same as creating art, which he believes requires human experience.
He expects the growth of AI-generated media to make some audiences more interested in experiences they know are directly human: hearing a singer perform live, attending theater, reading books, or being present with an artist. In that sense, he sees AI as a possible catalyst for renewed appreciation of in-person performance and creative work made by people.
This is Baker’s view of how audiences may respond, rather than a guarantee about the future. For creators, his comments point to a practical opportunity: communicate what makes a performance, production, or piece of writing distinctive, including the human decisions and experiences behind it.
AI as part of a changing games industry
Baker frames the development of AI as a major change, but not one that necessarily ends human creativity. He compares the present moment with a long history of people performing for one another, and suggests that this tradition can continue even as new tools become part of the process.
Separately, on January 6, Embark Studios CEO and founder Patrick Söderlund said the Arc Raiders developer was not using AI to reduce its investment in people. The remark provides another example of how game companies are addressing concerns about the relationship between automation and creative jobs.
For readers following Troy Baker on AI, the central point is that he does not believe the technology has to be demonized, but he also does not consider generated content a replacement for human artistry. His argument places lasting value on real performers, lived experience, and the direct connection between creators and audiences.
