What just happened? The Screen Actors Guild strike over the use of generative AI in video games is continuing a month after it began, but some progress has been made: 80 titles have agreed to the union’s terms over the use of the technology.
Last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike produced guarantees that Hollywood actors would be informed and compensated if studios used generative AI to reproduce their voices and likenesses, but the agreement didn’t cover performers working in video games. At the end of July, after more than 18 months of negotiations with some of the largest video game companies ended without a deal, members went on strike to receive similar protections from the publishers.
Now, 80 games have agreed to the union’s AI rules, making the titles temporarily exempt from the walkout and allowing members to work on them. AP reports that the games have signed tiered budget agreements with the union and accepted the requested AI provisions.
The companies that have entered into AI agreements include Little Bat Games (Vampire Therapist), Studio Wildcard (Ark: Survival Evolved), and Lightspeed L.A. (Last Sentinel). The strike will continue against other major publishers, including subsidiaries of Disney and Warner Bros., as well as Electronic Arts Productions.
The interim agreement covers protections around the “exploitative use” of AI. It also agrees to improvements in compensation for actors, rest periods, healthcare, and safety precautions related to the strain of physical performances.
“The sheer volume of companies that have signed SAG-AFTRA agreements demonstrates how reasonable those protections are,” Sarah Elmaleh, chair of SAG-AFTRA’s video game negotiating committee, said in a statement.
Not using my voice they don’t.
– Ned Luke (@ned_luke) January 14, 2024
The use of generative AI was one of the main factors behind the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Its use continues to be a contentious subject, especially in light of news that many voice actors have been forced to sign away the rights to their voice as part of a role, and reports emerged in October that entry-level artists were losing work to virtual recreations.
In January, Ned Luke, the actor who portrays Michael De Santa in GTA 5, blasted a company for using his voice without permission to create a Michael AI chatbot. He added that the technology has also been used to create clips that sound like he is going on racist rants, apparently in an attempt to get him “canceled.”
