Summary
Video game performers represented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) are holding a picket at Disney Character Voices in Burbank on August 15 at 9 PT.
The industrial action concerns the use of artificial intelligence to replicate the voices and motions of performers in video games: “SAG-AFTRA is striking this contract so that members working in interactive media (video games) can continue earning a living doing the job they love. Our members' work and likenesses are being exploited by artificial intelligence, and video game companies have refused to offer a fair deal that addresses this existential threat,” the union’s statement reads.
SAG-AFTRA Pickets Over AI Protections For Video Game Performers
The guild began striking on July 26, preventing its 160,000 members from participating in new video game projects, and also existing projects that commenced operation after August 2023. If a publisher agrees to SAG-AFTRA’s Interim Interactive Media Agreement then it may avail of union talent.
While SAG-AFTRA and the bargaining committee of video game publishers (Activision,Take-Two,Insomniac,WB Gamesand more) reached an agreement on 24 of 25 proposals, negotiations broke down over the use of artificial intelligence in video games.
In arecent report by TheGamer regarding the strike, Spider-Man 2 voice actor Yuri Lowenthal told us that SAG-AFTRA is in favour of a consent, compensation and control approach. This would give voice actors complete control over how their voice or likeness is used, rather than a situation where once a performer is fully compensated, the publisher has full rights to use their performance how it sees fit, including using it as a base for generative AI.
The bargaining committee argued that their proposals provided meaningful AI protections, claiming they were “among the strongest in the entertainment industry.” SAG-AFTRA disagrees, saying the attached terms, conditions and exclusions “swallow up” the protections.
Under the bargaining committee’s terms, a performer’s performance wouldn’t be protected unless used in a manner where they were recognisable as the source, and there also needs to be a one-to-one relationship between the performer and the depiction of that character. This is a particular set of circumstances that would exclude many performers.
Jennifer Hale, one of the most prolific voice actors of the last two decades agrees, saying “If companies get permission to do this, they could take any of my roles, feed them into AI, and get a brand new performance. We can’t sustain this, and we actors are just the canary in the coal mine. It’s coming for all of us.”
