Saber denies replacing Rideshare Stimulator’s writers with ChatGPT

After a former lead writer claimed Saber “replaced me with ChatGPT,” CEO Matthew Karch now claims, “Neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI,” for the Rideshare “Stimulator” game announced last month, developed by Unigine.

The writer, Stella Sacco, says differently, however, posting on Bluesky that “I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they’re not disclosing it on Steam.”

Saber describes Rideshare “Stimulator” as an “immersive driving simulation game that puts you behind the wheel as a rideshare business owner,” and the segments shown in a teaser trailer appear to include AI-generated writing and audio for the simulated riders who are being picked up. The game’s Steam listing does not currently include any disclosure about using generative AI.

A statement from Karch provided to The Verge says, “The game will also feature an experimental, free-ride mode that by necessity incorporates AI as the number of passengers in the game is infinite. We are firm believers in using AI tools to improve or enhance gameplay experiences and improve NPC behavior as we have done since Saber was founded in 2001,” it continued, also claiming that “As the industry has continued to contract, Saber continues to hire. None of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI.”

Sacco replied to Karch’s statement in a message sent to The Verge. “My indignation at being called a liar by that statement aside, you can’t meaningfully say both ‘writers wrote the story’ and ‘computers wrote the text,’” Sacco says. “If rides I wrote are in there, and also rides AI wrote or will write are in there, then AI was still used, and I was still replaced, just as Saber told me they were doing in December 2023. They’re trying to have it both ways. You can’t win on the labor part of the statement while you admit you took work away from labor in the next part. It’s ridiculous.”