'Nothing will ever replace the emotional depth and creative inspiration of human beings as artists and creators' — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 composer speaks out against AI in video games, says 'music is not just a bunch of notes strung together'

A Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 screenshot captured on PC.
(Image credit: Activision)

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 composer Jason Graves shares his stance on AI being used as a creative tool for video games
  • Graves says, "Nothing will ever replace the emotional depth and creative inspiration of human beings as artists and creators"
  • He says music creation is based on "personal experiences" and "creative instincts

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 composer Jason Graves has spoken out against AI taking over human creativity in video games and believes technology should only help artists work more efficiently.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, where Graves also discussed what it was like to create a full score for a Modern Warfare multiplayer mode for the first time, the composer shared his stance on the rise of AI in music creation, especially in entertainment and video games.

"Nothing will ever replace the emotional depth and creative inspiration of human beings as artists and creators," Graves said. "Music is not just a bunch of notes strung together."

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He added that human music creation is based on "personal experiences" and "creative instincts forged by emotion and all the little decisions that give a piece of art its own unique personality."

While against AI as a creative tool, Graves said he's "all for technology that supports artists and helps them work more efficiently." However, he added, "There's a big difference between supporting human creativity and replacing that creative process completely with digital ones and zeros."

In the same interview, the composer shared his process for designing the game's multiplayer music, which he described as wholly different from the campaign and explained what inspired him most when writing the score.

"Fortunately, I have no lack of inspiration from the amazing gameplay itself," Graves said. "The incredible team at Infinity Ward, led by audio director Stephen Miller, was also such a huge creative influence."


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Demi Williams
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Demi is a freelance games journalist who helps cover gaming news at TechRadar. She's been a games writer for five years and has written for outlets such as GameSpot, NME, and GamesRadar, covering news, features, and reviews. Outside of writing, she plays a lot of RPGs and talks far too much about Star Wars on X.

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