By D. W. G. Kalani Tharanga, JadeTimes News
Major video game companies such as Activision, Warner Bros, and Walt Disney are on the brink of a strike by Hollywood performers over the contentious issue of artificial intelligence (AI) usage. This impending strike comes after a year and a half of negotiations between these companies and the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag Aftra), a union representing over 2,500 video game performers. Although the two sides have reached agreements on key issues like wages and job safety, they remain at an impasse over AI protections.
Sag Aftra, the same union that last year brought Hollywood to a standstill with a strike by film and television actors, has called for industrial action to prevent gaming studios from using generative AI to reproduce performers' voices and physical appearances without fair compensation. The union insists on clear and enforceable language in the contract to protect its members from potential AI abuses. In contrast, the video game companies argue that they have already made sufficient concessions, including requiring consent and fair compensation for AI usage under the Interactive Media Agreement, which covers voiceover and on camera work for video game characters.
AI Concerns and Previous Strikes Highlight Performers' Struggles
The core of the performers' concerns lies in the potential for AI technology to be used in ways that undermine their roles and compensation. They fear that generative AI could replicate their voices and likenesses to animate video game characters without appropriate payment or acknowledgment. Sag Aftra has emphasized that any agreement must explicitly protect performers from such AI abuses, stating, "We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members."
The current negotiation deadlock echoes the challenges faced by TV and film actors in the US last year, who, after a prolonged strike, secured $1 billion in new pay and benefits, as well as AI safeguards. That strike, the longest in Sag Aftra's 90 year history, along with a concurrent writers' strike, caused significant disruptions in film and TV production, costing California's economy more than $6.5 billion. As the video game industry faces similar pressures, the outcome of these negotiations will be crucial in setting precedents for AI usage and performers' rights across entertainment sectors.
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