Video game diegesis and ethics of artificial intelligence in Nier: Automata

Nier: Automata is unique piece of entertainment media that brings about a discussion for AI ethics. It makes use of narrative elements in its diegesis to outline issues of AI personhood and the ethical concerns that entail, and blends it with non-diegetic gameplay which dissociates the player from the player characters. This magnifies the player presence in the game to a diegetic level. With the player as part of the game’s diegesis, the game creates a procedural rhetoric which advocates that AI should be made accountable to humans to achieve equitable use of AI through its series of diegetic and non-diegetic game play.