Jervis Johnson warned that generative artificial intelligence could become “the asbestos of the internet,” backing Games Workshop’s formal ban on AI use in Warhammer design processes.
Johnson, a longtime architect of Warhammer 40,000, Necromunda and Blood Bowl, said generative AI does not live up to the hype and could leave the industry “spending decades getting this stuff out again” after widespread adoption.
“I saw a great quote recently saying that AI is going to be like the asbestos of the internet and the computer industry. That we’re going to be spending decades getting this stuff out again after we’ve used it a lot and found out it's actually a bit rubbish,”
Johnson told gaming outlet FRVR.
Games Workshop, founded in 1975 and listed in London since 1994, reported about $422 million in revenue and roughly $178 million in operating profit for the 26 weeks ended Nov. 30, 2025, and said in January it does not permit AI-generated content in its design processes.
Chief executive Kevin Rountree said the company had adopted a cautious internal policy barring AI-generated content or unauthorised AI use in competitions, a stance Johnson described as “the right move.”
Johnson argued that high-end creative work requires sustained human effort, warning that AI risks producing “an average answer” by shortcutting the thinking, iteration and planning central to developing complex universes like Warhammer 40,000.