Troy Baker—the renowned voice actor behind characters such as Joel and Indiana Jones—has expressed a notably more optimistic view of artificial intelligence. His stance stands in contrast to the dominant mood within the video game voice acting industry, where AI is often regarded with skepticism or outright opposition.

Prior to Baker making his position public, many voice actors had already voiced strong concerns about AI’s growing role in the industry. Briana White, who portrayed Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII Remake, previously warned that AI was driving the entire industry into a state of panic. Similarly, Julie Nathanson, known for voicing Samantha Maxis in the Call of Duty: Black Ops series, took part in the SAG-AFTRA strike after emphasizing that the idea of AI replacing her voice was fundamentally unacceptable.

Against this backdrop of widespread criticism, Baker appeared on The Game Business Show on January 6, where he argued that there was little value in reflexively attacking or demonizing AI. Rather than treating the technology as an inherent threat, he suggested that the conversation needed greater nuance.

During the show, Baker acknowledged that AI’s capabilities are now widely understood and increasingly impressive. However, he emphasized that recognizing its technical progress does not require vilifying it. He pointed out that for more than 2,500 years, audiences have consistently sought performances that feel genuine and emotionally authentic. While AI may continue to improve at producing content, he argued that it lacks the ability to create art that is truly original in the human sense. From his perspective, art remains inseparable from human experience, making it an inherently human domain.

Baker went on to suggest that the advancement of AI could paradoxically heighten people’s appreciation for human authenticity. As artificial content becomes more prevalent, he believes audiences may increasingly gravitate toward experiences that foreground unmistakably human qualities—such as watching a person sing live, reading a book imbued with a distinctly human sensibility, or engaging with works created through lived experience rather than by virtual entities. In that sense, he framed AI’s rise not solely as a threat, but as a potential opportunity for human creativity to stand out even more clearly.

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.