Actors vs. AI: The Fight Over Video Game Rights
▼ Summary
– SAG-AFTRA members ratified a new contract, ending an 11-month strike, with 95% approval for terms including annual raises and AI protections.
– The strike primarily focused on AI safeguards, with other issues like compensation resolved earlier, and was suspended in June pending ratification.
– Video game actors, including voice and motion capture performers, have long been concerned about AI’s impact on their digitized work.
– The new contract mandates consent and disclosure for AI-driven replicas of performers’ voices or likenesses, allowing suspension of approval during strikes.
– AI has already replaced human actors in cases like Fortnite’s Darth Vader, prompting SAG-AFTRA to file labor charges against unauthorized AI use.
Video game performers have secured landmark protections against artificial intelligence after an overwhelming 95% of SAG-AFTRA members approved a new three-year contract. The agreement, ratified Wednesday, concludes an 11-month strike that centered on safeguarding actors’ rights as AI technology rapidly advances in the gaming industry.
The deal guarantees annual pay increases, better compensation terms, and critical restrictions on how studios can use AI to replicate performers’ voices and likenesses. While other contract issues like wages and working conditions were settled months earlier, negotiations stalled over AI concerns, a reflection of how deeply this technology threatens creative professions.
Sarah Elmaleh, a veteran voice actor and union leader, explains that performers have anticipated this battle for years. “We recognized early on that AI posed an existential challenge,” she says. Unlike traditional media, video games rely heavily on digitized performances, making actors particularly vulnerable to replacement by synthetic alternatives.
Under the new terms, game developers must obtain explicit consent before using AI to recreate an actor’s voice or appearance, and performers retain the right to revoke permission during labor disputes. These provisions aim to prevent studios from exploiting digital replicas without fair compensation or transparency.
The urgency of these protections became clear earlier this year when Epic Games introduced an AI-generated version of Darth Vader in Fortnite, only for players to manipulate the character into spouting offensive lines within hours. SAG-AFTRA swiftly filed a complaint, accusing the company of bypassing union negotiations while replacing human talent with AI.
Even iconic performers like James Earl Jones, who authorized AI replication of his voice before passing away, highlight the ethical complexities. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, emphasizes that posthumous rights must be treated with the same care as those of living artists, ensuring respectful and controlled use of digital recreations.
As AI continues reshaping entertainment, this contract sets a precedent for protecting performers in an industry where synthetic voices and virtual actors are no longer science fiction, but an emerging reality.
(Source: Wired)
