Saber Interactive Denies Use of ChatGPT for Rideshare Simulator

Saber Interactive Denies Use of ChatGPT for Rideshare Stimulator

Saber's CEO, Matthew Karch, stated that the story for the game Rideshare "Stimulator" was "entirely written by real people," except for an experimental mode.

After a former editor claimed that Saber had "replaced her with ChatGPT," Karch asserted, "Neither Saber nor Unigine replaced writers with AI" for the rideshare simulation game announced last month and developed by Unigine.

However, writer Stella Sacco has a different version of events. She posted on Bluesky: "I was the lead writer on this project! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the voices of the passengers were also generated by AI. Either they changed direction at some point, or they are not disclosing it on Steam."

Saber describes Rideshare "Stimulator" as an "immersive driving simulation game that puts you in the driver's seat as the owner of a rideshare business." The segments shown in a trailer appear to include AI-generated writing and audio for the simulated passengers being picked up. The game's Steam listing currently contains no mention of the use of generative AI.

A statement from Karch provided to The Verge states: "The game will also feature an experimental free driving mode that, by necessity, incorporates AI, as the number of passengers in the game is infinite. We firmly believe in using AI tools to enhance or enrich gaming experiences and improve NPC behavior, as we have done since Saber was founded in 2001." He also claimed that "As the industry continues to contract, Saber continues to hire. None of our more than 3,000 employees need to worry about being replaced by AI."

Sacco responded to Karch's statement in a message sent to The Verge: "Setting aside my outrage at being called a liar by this statement, one cannot meaningfully say both 'the writers wrote the story' and 'the computers wrote the text.' If rides I wrote are included, as well as rides that AI has written or will write, then AI has been used, and I was replaced, as Saber told me in December 2023. They are trying to play both sides. You can't win on the labor front in one part of the statement while admitting to taking work away from workers in the other part. It's ridiculous."