‘Human Creativity Must Remain at the Centre’: Sony Talks AI within PlayStation

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So, after Sony announced their latest earnings, they had a Q&A and talked about how they’re planning to use AI across the PlayStation business. It sounds like they’re really exploring how AI can help them with everything going forward.

As a fan, it’s really great to see this company focusing on using AI to help creators, not replace them. It feels like they genuinely want to make things easier and more efficient for artists and other professionals, and that’s a really positive approach. They see AI as a tool, and that’s exactly what I want to see!

According to Sony’s CEO, Hiroki Totoki, human creativity is still the most important thing. While AI is a strong and useful tool, it shouldn’t replace artists or creators – instead, it can help boost their imagination and open up new opportunities.

According to Hideaki Nishino, the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation’s game developers are already using artificial intelligence tools to speed up and improve the game creation process.

Our game developers are using new AI tools to handle tedious tasks, boost their overall efficiency, and speed up processes like testing, creating 3D models, and making animations, he explained.

Nishino mentions Mockingbird, a special tool that uses artificial intelligence to bring 3D faces to life. It works by taking performance capture data and automatically creating realistic animations, which would normally be a very time-consuming process.

Game developers like Naughty Dog and San Diego Studio are now using this technology, and you can already see it in games like the remastered version of Horizon Zero Dawn, according to reports.

Nishino says animating hair is another area where AI/machine learning significantly eases workload.

We’ve sped up hair creation by filming real hairstyles and using AI to turn that footage into detailed 3D models, complete with hundreds of individual strands. This lets our artists focus less on tedious manual work and more on creating immersive worlds and fun gameplay for players.

He highlights Gran Turismo 7’s AI driver, Sophy, as a demonstration of how this technology can create fresh and engaging experiences for players.

It’s important to note that these examples don’t seem to be using AI that creates new content – the kind of AI that’s causing the most concern for people.

According to Nishino, the creativity, design, and emotional connection in our games will always be driven by the skills of our development teams and actors. AI is intended to help them do their jobs even better, not take their place.

So, PlayStation is using AI in the PS Store, which is pretty cool. Basically, as game development gets more advanced with AI, there’s going to be way more games to choose from. That means the Store needs to get smarter about recommending games I actually want to play, you know? It’s all about helping me find the perfect game in a sea of options.

We’re continuing to improve and expand our services, using machine learning to offer our customers the greatest benefits. With AI creating more options for users, our platform’s strength will be in how well it can suggest and customize experiences for everyone.

AI is already helping with many tasks, and we’re constantly making it better. Soon, our AI will create a personalized experience for each player, suggesting not just their next game, but also the perfect in-game moment, subscription offer, or piece of gear to match their interests.

As a PS5 fan, I’m really excited to hear about PSSR! Apparently, they’ve been making some serious improvements to the AI upscaling tech, which means the PS5 Pro should deliver even better graphics and smoother gameplay. It sounds like a big win for visual quality!

The future looks generally good, but challenges remain. Limited memory and disruptions to supply chains due to global events could cause problems. According to Totoki, being able to adjust quickly will be key, as past strategies may no longer be effective.

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2026-05-08 15:37