The r/gamedev moderation team (1,100+ points) lays out an official AI policy: the subreddit does not prohibit AI use, and AI involvement does not automatically make a post low effort. The core argument — “we are not policing AI use itself. We are moderating the contribution.”
Why they refuse to police AI:
- AI is already part of game development — studios use it across programming, prototyping, production, QA, localization, and research
- AI literacy is becoming a professional skill: knowing where tools help, where they fail, and how to evaluate output
- Banning discussion would actively disadvantage developers trying to learn how the industry is changing
- Policing AI use is not realistic — moderators cannot reliably detect whether someone used AI to draft, edit, translate, or debug
- Mandatory disclosure is not realistic either — modern tools blur the line between traditional software and AI assistance
The practical rules that follow:
- AI-assisted does not mean low effort — useful data plus AI writing help still counts as the developer’s work
- Low-effort AI content is still removed, but because it is low quality, not because AI was involved
- AI is a valid topic — enthusiasm and skepticism are both welcome; what they do not want is every AI thread becoming a debate about whether AI should exist
- Attack claims, not developers
- AI is not a source — “ChatGPT said so” is no evidence; challenge the claim, not the tool that may have helped write the paragraph
- Self-promotion rules still apply — AI must not be used to mass-produce promotional posts
The useful distinction is between AI as a communication aid and AI as the authority behind information. The policy’s practical effect: contributions get judged on quality and claims on their merits — which is the standard most AI-assisted developers actually want anyway.