Ep46. A.I. & the Future of Gaming: Riot Games’ Rudi Bonaparte on A.I.’s Impact on the Gaming Industry and Simulating Real-world Future Society Scenarios

Are we in a gaming simulation and don’t know it? Listen in to find out! Meet Rudi Bonaparte who’s driving innovation at Riot Games, the gaming studio that created the iconic ‘League of Legends’ which is the most-played PC game in the world. Rudi is a gaming executive with a professional focus on creating systems and spaces that empower creators to do their best work. As Riot Game’s Director of Corporate Operations and Strategy, he helps senior executives and game development teams set clear goals, build exciting new capabilities, and thoughtfully allocate resources through a combination of strategic thinking and tactical implementation. Charged with a new task in his role, Rudi ensures that Riot Games not only designs the most player-focused gaming experiences in the world, but is also the best and most creative place to develop these games. Prior to joining Riot Games, Rudi led strategy and analytics teams at Teach for America and consulted with clients in the tech, telecom, and media industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. A.I. has many implications for gaming which sits at the intersection of technology, art, and entertainment. In today’s conversation, Rudi discusses the state of the gaming industry, from the economic realities to the exciting possibilities of innovation emerging from recent disruption. Rudi shares his perspective on A.I, gaming, and IP along with how Hollywood and gaming are converging. We also explore gaming as a testbed for ideas that could shape society, what Rudi would build into a virtual environment to nurture the best of humanity, and the lessons that in-game currency and incentive structures hold for the real world. We also touch on some of Rudi's favorite works of speculative fiction and why he believes the future will be brighter than many imagine. EPISODE SHOW NOTES:  https://creativitysquared.com/podcast/ep46-rudi-bonaparte-a-i-the-future-of-gaming JOIN CREATIVITY SQUARED Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: https://creativitysquared.com/newsletter  Become a premium member: https://creativitysquared.com/supporters  SUBSCRIBE Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform: https://creativitysquared.com Subscribe for more videos: https://youtube.com/@creativity_squared/?sub_confirmation=1 CONNECT with C^2 https://instagram.com/creativitysquaredpodcast https://facebook.com/CreativitySquaredPodcast https://giphy.com/channel/CreativitySquared https://tumblr.com/blog/creativitysquared https://tiktok.com/@creativitysquaredpodcast #CreativitySquared CONNECT with Helen Todd, the human behind C^2 https://instagram.com/helenstravels https://twitter.com/helenstravels https://linkedin.com/in/helentodd https://pinterest.com/helentodd Creativity Squared explores how creatives are collaborating with artificial intelligence in your inbox, on YouTube, and on your preferred podcast platform.  Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations. This show is produced and made possible by the team at PLAY Audio Agency: https://playaudioagency.com. Creativity Squared is brought to you by Sociality Squared, a social media agency who understands the magic of bringing people together around what they value and love: http://socialitysquared.com.