Anno 117: Pax Romana Accidentally Generated Assets with AI
The content in question should not have made it into the final build, according to Ubisoft
On the Steam page for Anno 117: Pax Romana, it's stated that artificial intelligence tools were used to help create some assets, but the final product reflects the craftsmanship and creative vision of the team. In other words, AI was supposedly used as support, but the content itself was ultimately human-made. However, upon closer inspection of certain artworks, more than one player was left perplexed.
Ubisoft and AI-drawn Artwork
Users have reported that several artworks in Anno 117 were unequivocally drawn by AI: certain details of faces and hands betray the errors that generative artificial intelligences usually make. In one scene depicting a Senate session, one of the attendees is even headless... When questioned about this by Kotaku, Ubisoft confirmed what was stated above, namely that artists used AI as an aid, but the work was still their own.
Ubisoft explains that one of the incriminating artworks was intended as a placeholder, but due to an oversight, it was kept in the final version of Anno 117. Soon, with patch 1.3, the problem will be fixed. Are you convinced by the justification? AI slip-ups aside, the game remains a mature and elegant management title, although it doesn't dare enough: we delve deeper into the discussion in our Anno 117: Pax Romana review.