A member of U.S. Congress has now called out Activision Blizzard’s use of generative AI in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and demanded tighter regulation to “prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs.”
It’s not been the smoothest start for Activision’s blockbuster shooter franchise. When Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launched last week, players promptly took to social media to complain about AI-generated images they had found across the game, primarily focusing on calling card images with a Studio Ghibli-esque styling, following a trend of AI-Ghibli images from earlier this year.
Now, in a post on X/Twitter, Californian congressman has Ro Khanna slammed the developer’s move to AI to “extract greater profits,” writing: “We need regulations that prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs to extract greater profits. Artists at these companies need to have a say in how AI is deployed. They should share in the profits. And there should be a tax on mass displacement.”
In a follow-up tweet, Khanna added that there should be tax reforms to discourage excessive automation, guardrails should be put in place to protect worker input before deployment — “not a Luddite complete ban” — adding “support unions and workers to bargain for workers’ benefitting from productivity gains.”
When a commenter suggested that curbing AI investment could stifle innovation, Khanna said: “Innovation and technological advance is patriotic and good for humanity provided it serves people. So we need to think about how it is adopted and how people can still have meaningful work and independence.
“A tax code that doesn’t incentivize excessive automation, working input councils so AI is used for augmentation, rules so workers share in AI productivity gains, a plan to hire young grads who may less entry level jobs or to hire displaced workers, a tax on mass displacement and guardrails against them — all these a provisions to ensure a technology revolution benefits ordinary Americans.”
Last week, Activision acknowledged its used of “a variety of digital tools, including AI tools,” in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, “to empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players. Our creative process continues to be led by the talented individuals in our studios.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time Call of Duty has come under fire for AI usage. This exact scenario played out back in February, when Activision admitted that it had used generative AI in the development of Black Ops 6, including in a zombie Santa loading screen that angry fans referred to as “AI slop.”
AI isn’t the only thing bothering Call of Duty fans, either. Last last week, players realized the story campaign has numerous restrictions tied to its always-online nature, with no method of pausing levels. You’ll also be booted from your game if you’re idle for too long.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is out now. We’ve given the campaign a try and awarded it an ‘Okay’ 6/10, with our reviewer saying it’s ” a wild one thanks to the scope of its ambition, but the big swings it takes don’t always land, leaving it an uneven step down from last year.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
