AI transparency
The short version
- AI helps us work. It helps find and check news, draft stories, keep release dates up to date, and build and run the website and app.
- A person is responsible. Alan sets the rules, chooses the featured story, approves every change to the website and database, and fixes or removes anything that falls short.
- We label it. We're adding a line to every page and a label to AI-assisted stories, so you always know.
- No fake pictures. We never use AI-generated images as game art or footage.
- No AI decisions about you. AI doesn't decide anything about your account, your XP or a prize.
1. Why we're telling you
We call out cheap AI slop in games, so it's only fair to be just as straight about how we use AI ourselves. The Player Code is a very small company: one founder and a couple of AI helpers. AI is how one person can run a news site, a release calendar and an app. It isn't a replacement for honesty or for a person taking responsibility.
2. Who our AI helpers are
- Maya is an AI assistant. She scans official sources for new stories, checks them against the original source, drafts them, adds the official picture and credit, and publishes them through our admin page using our house rules. She also runs the morning release-date check.
- Claude Code is an AI software engineer. It builds and maintains the website and the iPhone app, runs security checks and looks after backups, and publishes stories when Maya can't.
3. What a person decides
- The rules. Alan writes the editorial rules the AI follows: official sources first, no rumours as fact, official pictures only, always credited. See our editorial standards.
- The featured story at the top of Today is chosen by Alan, never automatically.
- Reviews and verdicts come from playing the game.
- Every change to the website and the database, from new pages to a change of release date in bulk, needs Alan's go-ahead first, with a backup taken before it.
- Checking after. Published stories are checked, and anything wrong is corrected or taken down. You can always tell us at hello@theplayercode.com.
4. How we label AI-assisted work
We're adding two labels to the website and the app:
- a line at the bottom of every page, such as "Proudly built with AI assistance";
- a short label on each story written with AI help, saying a person is responsible for it.
Until those labels are in place, this page is our label: assume any news story on The Player Code was found and drafted with AI help, to our rules.
5. What we don't use AI for
- Fake pictures. We never use AI-generated images as game art, screenshots or footage. Our pictures are official and credited.
- Made-up quotes or sources. Every story links to a real, official source.
- Decisions about you. AI doesn't decide anything about your account, your XP, a disqualification or a prize. Quest checks are simple rules, and a person reviews the evidence before anyone loses a prize or an account (see our privacy policy).
- Your data. We don't sell or share your personal data to train AI models. Our terms don't allow anyone to use our content to train AI without permission either.
6. Changes to this page
AI tools change quickly. If the way we use AI changes in a way that matters to you, we'll update this page and the date at the top.