Steam, Twitch, and AI: A History of Being Wrong About the Future
Every new technology in gaming starts with a "death of the industry" prediction. From the early days of Steam and digital ownership to the rise of Twitch and always-online consoles, we have a history of being wrong about the future. This post explores why the shift to AI is just the next step in the cycle and why the real value of a developer has always been about professional judgment, not just manual labor.
Time really is money
It feels strange to live in a world where one simple mistake locks you out of your work for 18 hours. Between the long wait times and the pressure of "token anxiety," it’s wild that we have world-changing tools right in front of us, yet we are actually afraid to use them for fear of running out of chances before the job is done.
Labor or Judgment
The conversation around AI in the game industry is often framed as "robots taking jobs," but the reality is more about a shift in where we spend our energy. I recently saw a perspective from a Blender creator that really changed how I view these tools.