A new controversy has erupted online after players discovered the use of artificial intelligence in The Alters. Several people noticed that the developers forgot to remove the beginning of the AI's response, while others noted problems with translation into some languages, writes Eurogamer.
One user shared a screenshot of a bot that forgot to remove part of the AI's response. One of the screenshots had the phrase "Sure, here's a revised version focusing purely on scientific and astronomical data," which is the default response from most chatbots.
Other players have started to complain about the Portuguese translation of The Alters. In one of the threads about the game on Steam, players also noted strange moments in the French translation. At the same time, Handong Ryu, who was involved in the Korean translation, notes that such errors appear because the developers added something to the game at the last moment and most likely did not want to spend extra time translating them.
For Ukrainians, the topic of machine translation without additional editing is nothing new, as complaints about this have been around for a long time. One example of this was Ghostrunner 2, in which the Ukrainian localization was absolutely terrible.
Some The Alters players believe that this situation is not critical, while others have an indignant reaction. One of the biggest problems with the translation and generated text is that The Alters does not have a notice about the use of generative artificial intelligence on Steam, where it should be mandatory from 2024.
Localization specialist Lucille Danilov was among those outraged by this undisclosed use of AI. She speculated about last-minute changes to the game that resulted in questionable translations in some languages, which Ryu later confirmed. Danilov went on to write that developers should be more careful in such situations, as it can carry serious reputational risks for both the studio and the translators.
"So take note, game devs/publishers: Accountability has never been more important. Start adding (and enforcing!) no-AI clauses in your contracts, with heavy penalties in case of breach. Run independent localization audits. And stop subcontracting to companies who clearly don't care about due diligence."