Hollywood Video Game Actors on Strike Due to AI Issue
SAG-AFTRA is negotiating for adequate AI safeguards on behalf of the performers against top video game makers.
Hollywood video game actors are taking a stand against top video game makers, including Activision, Warner Bros, and Walt Disney, in response to their use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the gaming industry. This strike comes in response to over a year and a half of negotiations between the video game companies and a union representing over 2,500 video game performers. While both sides have reached agreements on certain important issues such as appropriate wages and job safety, safeguarding against the employment of AI technology remains a significant sticking point.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which brought Hollywood to a standstill with a strike by film and television actors last summer, called for the strike. Actors are concerned that gaming companies might use generative AI to replicate their voices and physical appearances to use as future video game characters without securing appropriate payment.
In a statement, SAG-AFTRA emphasized the importance of clear and enforceable language to protect performers from potential AI abuses. The union acknowledged the positive results of the negotiations among certain issues, but stressed that they will not fully commit to a contract that does not wholeheartedly protect performers from abuse of AI.
On the other side, video game studios believe they have already made sufficient concessions to address the union's concerns. Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the 10 video game producers negotiating with SAG-AFTRA, expressed disappointment over the union's decision to strike against the contract. Cooling emphasized that their offer includes meaningful AI protections, including mandatory consent and fair compensation for all performers under the Interactive Media Agreement.
The Interactive Media Agreement, which protects artists who offer voiceover services and on-camera work for video game characters, was approaching its expiration in November 2022. However, it has been extended on a monthly basis while talks continue. This new strike comes in the wake of a successful strike by TV and film actors in the US last year, which resulted in $1 billion in new pay and benefits as well as protections on the use of AI. That 118-day shutdown, the longest in SAG-AFTRA's 90-year history, in addition to a separate and simultaneous writers' strike, significantly disturbed film and TV production, costing California's economy billions.
As the strike unfolds, the gaming industry faces significant challenges, and the outcome of these negotiations could set important precedents for the use of AI in entertainment.