Let's Talk about The Sims and Generative AI

For many, AI is a buzzword; a controversial and convoluted topic thrown around so much it's easy to roll your eyes and ignore it. In recent years we've seen the use of AI become popularized and even standardized with OpenAI's DALL-E and ChatGPT providing image generation and automated responses respectively. Google has their AI search overview — which can be at times inaccurate and misleading — as well as their new Gemini assistant. Microsoft has Copilot, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Whatsapp and Messenger have Meta AI, and X has Grok. Generative AI is the norm now, the "future," but what does this mean for The Sims and why should we even care?

Anyone who has been at least somewhat following The Sims 4's competitor inZOI knows that they use generative AI in their game, though KRAFTON claims its AI is trained using a database of assets owned by the company and copyright free. Despite this, it's easy to take a look into the files of the game and see that it simply uses a fine-tuned version of Stable Diffusion 1.5 with only a few kilobytes difference. Copyrighted material has been seen generated in-game. It takes a large amount of data to train AI models, something most people either overlook or are unaware of in the first place. AI consumers are also probably unaware of the fact that generative AI has an impact on the environment as well. Generative AI isn't just stealing from artists and writers or being used as a tool to get homework done faster; it is increasing energy consumption, water consumption, and carbon emissions.

So again, what does any of this have to do with The Sims? If utilizing generative AI is the path that EA wants to go down in the future, I can only imagine the effects it would have not just because of issues with AI but also gameplay- and feature-wise. The witty writing could either disappear or completely fall flat. Sims could lose their character and the things that make them unique. As typical with AI, things would no doubt start to make less sense — and not in the fun Sims way we know and love. Of course all of what I just proposed is hypothetical, but I know it isn't something I would enjoy. From what EA has shown with The Sims Hub, its features appear to use more of an image recognition technology than generative AI, but they do promote it as powered by AI, so I remain skeptical. That paired with EA's recent survey for Sims players who also played inZOI makes me suspect that they might want to jump on that bandwagon.

It's upsetting to see how lenient everyone has become to AI as a whole without taking into consideration the consequences of its use. The Sims franchise is something that both my mom and I have deep feelings for. My mom's been playing ever since 2000, and I remember playing The Sims 2 and having all of the CDs as a kid. I played The Sims 2 and The Sims 2 Castaway all the time on my pink Nintendo DS. The Sims games are a comfort to me, a safe space, and a way to get away from a world that is admittedly seeming more unstable as I grow up. I want The Sims to continue to have the charm it started off with, and while people may disagree about whether The Sims 4 still maintains that charm and personality, I think that it does — but how long is it going to last? I didn't mean to ramble for so long, and while my words might fall on deaf or ignorant ears, I believe it's worth saying anyway. Dag dag!