Voice actors are angry with SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and other entertainment professionals, about an agreement it struck with an artificial intelligence firm allowing video game developers to use digital replicas of actors’ voices.
On Tuesday, January 9, SAG-AFTRA announced that it had inked a deal with Replica Studios, an artificial intelligence voice technology company, paving the way for AAA video game studios and other companies working with Replica to “engage SAG-AFTRA members under a fair, ethical agreement to safely create and license a digital replica of their voice” for game development and other interactive media projects.
Regarding the use of AI in voiceover work, the agreement guarantees “fully informed consent and fair compensation” for its members, ensuring that performers can opt out of the continued use of their voice in new works.
In the announcement, SAG-AFTRA said that the agreement was “approved by affected members of the union’s voiceover performer community.” And in an email to members, seen by the BBC, SAG-AFTRA added that the contract had been negotiated by “actors with significant and diverse experience performing in games” and “was specifically tailored to the needs of voice actors, ensuring informed consent and proper compensation terms that are unique to this set of performers.”
SAG-AFTRA has been negotiating with major video game companies since 2022, with the core issues between voice actors and video game companies mirroring those between screen actors and major Hollywood studios. That conflict resulted in a four-month strike ending in November 2023 when SAG-AFTRA secured a much-criticized contract reforming residual payment structures and establishing protections for AI in film.
In September 2023, 98.32% of SAG-AFTRA members voted to authorize a strike against 10 video game companies, though a work stoppage has not occurred since the vote. The video game companies facing a potential strike were Activision Productions Inc, Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Epic Games, Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc. and WB Games Inc.
Although SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said the agreement is “a great example of AI being done right,” many voice actors, who have long been concerned AI will replace them, have suggested the new deal is at odds with the purpose of that industrial action. Futhermore, they’ve taken to social media to say that they weren’t told about the landmark deal detailing how AI-generated voices can be used in games.
One of the most prolific voice actors in video games, Steve Blum, known for roles in Cowboy Bebop, Star Wars: Rebels, and Mortal Kombat, responded to SAG-AFTRA’s X post about the agreement, saying, “Nobody in our community approved this that I know of. Games are the bulk of my livelihood and have been for years. Who are you referring to?”
Echoing Blum’s sentiment was voice actor Yong Yea, known for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Demon Slayer, who said that working voice actors “did not approve” the agreement, and everyone he knew was hearing about it for the first time via SAG-AFTRA’s X announcement.
Likewise, Greg Baldwin, a voice actor from Avatar: The Last Airbender, said on X that the union “betrayed” voice actors, adding he would refuse to sign his own “pink slip.”
Veronica Taylor, whose voice credits include Ash Ketchum in the Pokémon anime, questioned how the agreement passed without notice or a vote among SAG-AFTRA members. “Why can’t the actual actor be used for the videogame?” she wrote on X. “Every job brings a unique opportunity for an actor to …act. Encouraging/allowing AI replacement is a slippery slope downward.”
Adrian Petriw, a voice actor known for LEGO Jurassic World: The Legend of Isla Nublar and The Hollow, wrote on X, “We should be stopping generative AI performances in their tracks, getting the public on board by explaining that they’re getting less value for the same cost to them, so that these studios can profit more. We should be boycotting the companies using this tech, not making deals.”
Petriw continues, “Why on earth would I create a cheaper version of myself that I then have to compete with? My talent, expertise, and labor will cost you $$. If you don’t want to spend that, you don’t get AI Adrian, you get nothing.”
“At this point, I can’t tell what drives your actions more: direct malice, shortsighted greed, or sheer incompetence. Regardless, you’ve failed us yet again, @sagaftra,” Damien Haas, a voice actor known for roles in the video games Fortnite and Halo, posted on X.
Others expressed sadness over the chilling effect the SAG-AFTRA agreement is having on the voice-acting industry, with many young hopefuls now saying that “they want to give up trying to act now because of the SAG-AFTRA and AI bullshit.” On X, Meredith Nudo, a comedian and voice actor known for AFK Arena: Just Esperia Things and Beyond the Edge of Owlsgard, had some advice for up-and-coming voice artists in this climate, writing: “If you give up now, then the exploiters win. Go learn. Go grow. We NEED your voice.”
(featured image: 20th Century Fox)
