EA execs say generative AI is "not merely a buzzword for us, it's the very core of our business," then pretend to tell a computer to generate buildings live on stage

EA gathered a whole bunch of executives and bean counters together for a lengthy Investor Day presentation today, September 17, much of which gave two big thumbs up to myriad forms of generative AI, an increasingly divisive topic in the games industry and a driving reason behind the video game actor strike.

"AI in its different forms has always been central to this creative journey," begins EA CEO Andrew Wilson. "We all remember playing against the AI. And it has evolved into today's innovations in generative AI. This remarkable technology is not merely a buzzword for us – it's the very core of our business."

Wilson correctly points out that AI is, and has been, fundamental to many aspects of game development and logic, then quickly goes all-in on generative AI specifically. Some fundamental elements of EA's vision, like leveraging AI as a tool to be held by human hands, have seen support across the industry, but the publisher's approach seems a bit heavier-handed compared to the likes of Nintendo or even Sony. 

"Right now we have over 100 active novel AI projects across three strategic categories: efficiency, expansion, and transformation," Wilson explains, diving right into efficiency. "This does not just mean cost savings today. Efficiency is doing what we're doing today faster, cheaper, and at a higher quality. That means driving more iteration, more testing, and higher quality content for our community. It means removing obstacles for our game developers. It means culturalizing content across geographies so they can focus on finding more fun for more players around the world." 

"The lowering of these friction points leads to deeper gameplay experiences," he continues. "For example, we would not have created the smash hit College Football 25 without AI. That's how 150 unique stadiums and over 11,000 player likenesses are in the game." Again, this College Football example parallels one of the more popular or at least widely embraced applications of AI: let humans