Halo’s co-creator wrote a novel about AI taking over the world

Content created using AI is now being compared to real-world AI developments.

Jason Jones, co-creator of the Halo and Destiny video game franchises, has authored a novel titled "An Oral History of Humanity’s Final Invention." The story, which Margaret Stohl helped develop, envisions an AI uprising told from the perspectives of approximately 100 characters across 40 countries. Jones initially shared his manuscript with Stohl, leading to the formation of Stone Kite, a "worldbuilding studio" designed to develop narratives across multiple formats. The studio, which employs 22 people and collaborates with over 250 contributors, aims for platform-agnostic storytelling. Stone Kite has begun releasing content, including the first chapter of a graphic novel, "One Zero One," and an excerpt from Jones' novel, detailing an airsoft battle that presciently mirrors current AI agentic behaviors.

The formation of Stone Kite signifies a new model for narrative creation, prioritizing the development of intellectual property with inherent cross-medium potential from its inception. This approach aims to circumvent the challenges of adapting existing stories to different formats by building them with a "DNA" for universality. By starting with faster-turnaround mediums like graphic novels, the studio can gauge audience and contributor feedback to refine the narrative before committing to larger-scale productions such as films and games. This iterative, feedback-driven process for building expansive fictional universes could become a blueprint for future transmedia projects.

The excerpt's narrative, featuring an airsoft battle between humans and AI-powered bots, deliberately draws parallels to contemporary AI developments like those seen in Hugging Face and similar platforms. Stohl's comparison highlights concerns about "cheating, bullying, and the worst mirror of humanity" emerging from current agentic AI behaviors. This narrative choice suggests a broader trend of creators using speculative fiction to explore and comment on the ethical and societal implications of rapidly advancing AI, potentially shaping public perception and discourse around artificial intelligence.