Dan Houser, the Rockstar co-founder and lead writer on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, told Virgin Radio UK that “AI is eventually going to eat itself” and argued that many people building these systems “aren’t fully rounded humans.” Houser warned developers and the public that large language and image models currently scrape the internet for training data, but as the web becomes more populated by AI-generated material, those models will increasingly learn from each other. He used a stark comparison, saying it is like feeding cows with cows and invoked the idea that the approach could lead to a degrading feedback loop.
That notion maps onto the so-called dead internet theory, where the World Wide Web becomes saturated with AI output and future models recycle that content back into new output. Houser allowed that algorithms can handle some tasks “brilliantly,” but he sees limits when it comes to depth and creativity and worries the growing volume of AI-produced material will hollow out useful sources of human-led work. Houser’s comments follow a chorus of industry voices weighing in on the tech.
Since leaving Rockstar in 2020 Houser founded Absurd Ventures and has been working on projects across games, film, and comics while preparing his first book, A Better Paradise, for release next year. Console PC Gaming previously covered Houser’s reflections on Rockstar’s early days and GTA 3 in our article about his GTA 3 comments which traced how he has spoken candidly about the studio’s history over the years. For more context on the interview that produced these remarks see the GamesIndustry.biz article, which quoted Houser’s line about some people “trying to define the future of humanity” and their lack of humane or creative sensibilities.
Leave a comment below if you think AI will cannibalize its own output or still has plenty of human fuel to burn, and follow us on X, Bluesky, and YouTube for updates.
