French games developer Ubisoft sparked controversy about the nature and future of screenwriting by unveiling an AI tool intended to help its writers create background dialogue, 'barks', and other activities.

According to Ubisoft, Ghostwriter is supposed to save time for creative writers by generating first drafts of barks (generic lines from non-player characters triggered by players), allowing them 'more time to polish the narrative elsewhere'.

While some writers welcomed the tool, a number complained that Ghostwriter is a trojan horse intended to trial AI across Ubisoft, and that they stood to lose their jobs as AI was used more extensively by the company. 

Others said it raised questions about the quality of scriptwriting, which would likely become more monotonous and less distinctive.