‘If Hits Are Unexpected, Datasets Aren’t Gonna Get You There’ — Take-Two Interactive and Sony Bosses Say That AI Cannot Replace Human Creativity

Updated: Oct 20, 2026 3:18pm UTCStrauss Zelnick and Hiroki Totoki, the heads of Take-Two Interactive and Sony Group Corporation, agreed that AI won’t replace humans in the entertainment business during a talk at the Paley International Summit in New York City on Tuesday morning. They did, however, explain that they do see the technology as a valuable tool. “I don’t think an AI could replace humans because, particularly in the entertainment field, I think creativity is quite important. Creativity is for humans, not AI,” Totoki said. “How to use the technology profile is important. Of course, I encourage my people to use AI in a certain manner, but at [the] same time we try to keep the rights and rights holders and creators and artists.” “One of our division heads has said to his team, ‘You’re not gonna be replaced by AI, but if you’re not careful you’ll be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI,’” Zelnick said. “I’m fond of saying AI is a collection of datasets, compute, and large language models. That’s what it is. And datasets, by definition, are backward looking. That’s all they are. And creativity, at its best, is forward looking.