‘Warhammer’ Veteran Jervis Johnson Warns AI Could Become the ‘Asbestos of the Internet’

Synthetic intelligence may turn into “the asbestos of the web,” in keeping with one of many architects of Warhammer 40,000.

Jervis Johnson, the longtime designer behind Warhammer 40,000, Necromunda, and Blood Bowl, criticized generative AI whereas supporting Video games Workshop’s formal ban on the expertise in its inventive course of.

“Many of the stuff that I’ve seen doesn’t appear to truly fairly match as much as the hype,” Johnson told gaming outlet FRVR. “I noticed an ideal quote just lately saying that AI goes to be just like the asbestos of the web and the pc business. That we’re going to be spending many years getting these things out once more after we’ve used it lots and discovered it is really a bit garbage.”

Video games Workshop, based in 1975 and listed on the London Inventory Trade since 1994, is likely one of the largest tabletop gaming corporations globally. In January, the maker of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar reported about $422 million in income and roughly $178 million in working revenue for the 26 weeks ended Nov. 30, 2025.

In its half-yearly report launched in January, Video games Workshop CEO Kevin Rountree mentioned the corporate doesn’t enable AI-generated content material or AI for use in its design processes, or its unauthorized use exterior of GW, together with in any of its competitions.

“We’ve agreed an inside coverage to information us all, which is at present very cautious, e.g., we don’t enable AI-generated content material or AI for use in our design processes or its unauthorized use exterior of GW, together with in any of our competitions,” Rountree mentioned throughout an investor name.

Johnson mentioned he helps that coverage.

“I believe it’s the appropriate transfer for lots of corporations, to be completely sincere,” he mentioned. “I haven’t had quite a lot of expertise with AI as a result of I don’t use it. It’s not the way in which that I work, and I’m outdated so I don’t need to. It’s a newfangled form of factor that I didn’t actually become involved with within the first place.”

He mentioned generative AI doesn’t ship high-end inventive work, and ultimately could also be extra dangerous to builders than useful.

“I believe that in case you’re going to do stuff on the high finish, do correctly fascinating, inventive stuff, then AI doesn’t enable you,” Johnson mentioned. “It’s a hindrance principally as a result of it lets you be a bit lazy and never put within the effort.”

Johnson described the event of Warhammer 40,000 as a course of constructed on sustained human effort.

“There was quite a lot of work concerned there, quite a lot of considering, and thought, and conferences, and planning, and discarding concepts,” he mentioned. “I fear that, with AI, what it does is it simply cuts that out and shortcuts to form of a mean reply.”