Summary

• SAG-AFTRA members are on strike against the gaming industry over a lack of AI protections.
• The industry says it is "disappointed" in the union's decision to call the strike, and claims to have already put protections in place.
• Actors are still fearful, however, telling us that the industry's use of AI threatens their livelihoods.

On July 26, all workers represented by 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:SAG-AFTRA, the largest actors union in the world, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:went on 🐷strike aga⛄inst the gaming industry. This came after negotiations collapsed with industry representatives, with the union specifically naming EA, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Activision, Epic, and more as com🔯panies that would not provide adequate AI protec🐠tions.

These negotiations took place as part of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Commi🐟ttee. Talks on a new contract with the industry had been taking place for more than 18 months by that point, but collapsed when they failed to reach an agreemen💎t.

“The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually. The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games,” SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who brin🎃g memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the AI use of their faces, voices, and bodies.

“Frankly, it’s stunning that these video game studios haven’t learned anything from the lessons of last year - that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to AI, and the public supports ജus in that.”

The industry, however, characterises theseꦓ talks differently.

“We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away ꦆwhen we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations,” s🍷ays Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game producers party to the Interactive Media Agreement.

&ꦯldquo;We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions. Our offer is directly responsive to SAG-AFTRA’s concerns and extends meaningful AI protections that include requiri🔯ng consent and fair compensation to all performers working under the IMA. These terms are among the strongest in the entertainment industry.”

In respons𓃲e, a SAG-𝕴AFTRA spokesperson says that the 24 areas they have agreed on will be rendered “moot” if they can’t secure better AI protections.

“The industry has offered the appearance of meaningful AI protections, but in fact it is subject to conditions and exceptions that are so lar🧸ge that they will swallow the rules,” the spokesperson tells me. “For example, your performance isn’t protected unless the way it’s used is recognisable as you and there is a one-to-one relationship between your performance and the resulting video game character. This is not how video games are made, so those protections would apply to very few performers in practice.”

How Actors Feel About The SAG-AFTRA Strike

As we’ve 🃏previously reported, actors across the gaming industry have been consistent and largely unified on the issue of AI - they fear it’s coming for their jobs. And now, it’s felt that some of the biggest companies out there aren’t doing enough to assuage these fears.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal, who 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:previously spoke to TheGamer about his support for strike action against the use of AI, is once again determine♓d to get these assurances fro🔴m gaming giants.

“We’re trying to prevent performance theft,” says Lowenthal. &ldq𒆙uo;The way most companies have it structured right now, my next job could be my last job. For actors just starting out, their first job could be their last job.”

Lowenthal repeats the demands that many actors are making - consent, compensation and control. This would not only require companies to seek permission, but it would also give an actor a say in how t⭕heir voice is used, even with their approval, while still compensating them for their work. Without this, Lowenthal fears that AI replicas of himself and other actors could be “used in perpetuity”, putting him out of work.

“The way most companies have it structured right now, my next jo🦩b could be my last job" - Yuri Lowenthal

“I like the idea that the AI-generated ‘me’ should have the same protections as the real me,” says Lowenth🎉al. “The game corporations want to steal performers’ identities and use them for free forever and ღright now, we’re the only things standing in the way of letting that happen.”

Fellow actor Jennifer Hale, who voices Jean Grey in X-Men ‘97 and Commander Shepard in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mass Effect, has also been incredibly outspoken about this issue. She backs the strike, especially as she is fearfuꦕl for the state of the industry now,

“I'm nauseous, I'm hopeful, I'm determined,” says Hale.

“If companies get permission to do this, they could take any of my roles, feed them into AI, and [get a] brand new performance,” she continues. “We can't sustain this, and we actors are just the canary in the coal mine. It's coming for all of us.”

Hale has been one of th🐬e most prolific voice actors for more than two decades, but now, she wants to know what’𒈔s happening to the industry she works in - and where it all went wrong.

“The thing that I keep focusing on is, the money's going somewhere. Where is the money going?” Hale says. “The truth about AI is, again, it affects every single profession, and the people who are chasing profits at the expense of all of us are burning the platform we're all standing on, giving us nowhere else to go.

“There's so much money being made, where's it going? That's the issue, and that's the problem. Actor salaries are a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of games [budgets]. That tiny percentage is not going to make or break anybody's bonuses for the year.”

How The Strike Will Affect Game Development

With the strike now active, all SAG-AFTRA members have ceased working on games that are made or published by the struck companies. Any game that was in development before September 2023 is except though, leaving title𝓰s like Grand Theft Auto 6 safe from delays.

However, the strike does extend to any kind of promotion for struck work, even if it has been in development for some time. In practice, this interrupted 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s marketing campaign, as it only revealed its cast days bef𝕴ore many of the actors had to stop promoting the game.

This does not mean that the actors have stopped working completely, however. Any studio that agrees to the Interim Interactive Media Agreement can access union talent. On top of that, there’s a separate tiered budget agreement that came into ꧒effect in February. This was put in place to help indie devs hire union actors at rates that are adjusted for lower budgets, something that can conti🔯nue while the strike is on.

“I love me a good indie game, and I love indie devs,” says Hale. “I'm actually excited about the prospect of getting out and creating new relationships with new, up-and-coming game companies during this.”

"We actors are just the canary in the coal mine. It's coming for all of us.” - Jennifer Hale

As for the future of the industry beyond the strike, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:❀some actors I’ve spoken to in the past are split on whether AI is here to stay and is something they have to adapt to. However, even those who believe that it’s ꦇinevitable want to stop it♛s implementation from being anti-worker.

“I've talked to several people about this, and many of us are 100 percent on board for working with AI companies who will use this ethically,” says Hale.

“AI is not the enemy. AI is a tool,” says Hale. “I can take a screwdriver and I can tighten things up around the home and help you out, or I can take a screwdriver and I can stab you in the leg. It's the person, the human being, making ethical and moral decisions when they use that tool.

“I couldn't take your face, for example, and just use you to sell my stuff without your permission, and the voice is the same. I think it's just a matter of people catching that and people getting on the same page.”

On the whole, though, the mood is optimistic.“It's just a few corporate holdouts. It really is,” says Hale. “We have to keep that in perspective.

“I'm going to hold faith that there are human beings in that room, and that at some point they will realise what they're doing.”