Déjà vu struck Burbank on Thursday as many striking video game players showed symptoms and protested outdoors on the grounds of the Warner Bros. studios, about a year after their film and television counterparts did the same.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists held its first this week since calling a strike on behalf of some 2,600 artists working in voice acting and motion capture in the video game industry.
The strike began Friday after negotiations between the union and video game companies over synthetic intelligence considerations collapsed.
Companies “come to us to ask us what heroes look like, what they look like and what they do, and we’re going to show them,” Sarah Elmaleh, chair of the union’s bargaining committee, said at the protest.
In a statement provided last week to The Times, video game company spokeswoman Audrey Cooling said: “We are disappointed that the union has decided to walk away when we are so close to an agreement, and we remain in a position to resume negotiations. »
SAG-AFTRA has been negotiating a new deal with video game corporations covering interactive media since the contract expired in 2022. Players have demanded artificial intelligence regulations, pay increases to keep up with inflation, more rest and attention time. medical for hazardous work.
Almost two years later, the one that is still at the center of the strike is that of AI.
Artists are an agreement that would require video game makers to tell them when they plan to reproduce their voices, movements, or likenesses to AI, inform them how their paintings will be used, download their consent before moving forward, and compensate them accordingly. .
“As long as AI is used as a tool and not as a substitute, that’s fine,” said Chris Jai Alex, a prominent video game actor known for playing Tusk in “Killer Instinct” and Strife in “Darksiders Genesis. “
“I must be effective above all, but. . . The human detail is irreplaceable. “
LeQuan Bennett, a prominent video game actor known for betting on Captain Trent in “Return to Monkey Island,” said he believes an artist’s image, movements and voice should be considered his intellectual assets in advertising negotiations with video game producers.
“With a technical mindset, I see that nothing can stop AI,” Bennett added. “We are fighting to put safeguards in place for our rights. “
Video game players claim they are vulnerable to AI due to the invisible nature of voice acting and motion capture work. They worry that if a company uses AI to mirror their voices or movements without permission or compensation, it will be difficult for them to prove it. .
“Studios and developers are trying to argue that if you’re recognizable and speak naturally, then we can communicate about protection,” said Alejandra Reynoso, an actress known for voicing characters in “Dota 2” and “Stranger” from Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. .
“But I think we all know that you love what video game artists and actors do because they get to play a lot of characters. “
One of the main fears of actor Seth Allyn Austin, who worked on “The Last of Us Part II,” “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” and Insomniac’s “Spider-Man” series, is being sufficiently informed about how he will be used its functionality. He arranges He and other artists to make sure the game developers’ plans align with their values before giving them permission to reproduce the artists’ work.
“It was one of the first moves where I saw moves, stunts, voices and actors come together,” Austin said. “We all take on other burdens in the same fight. “
AI was also one of the main sticking points of the film and television actors’ strike, which ended with contract clauses requiring studios to download consent from artists and pay them when their paintings were reproduced with AI. Some stakeholders criticized the deal, arguing that protections against AI were not strong enough.
“We have continued to evolve our AI provisions since (. . . ) last year’s strike,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator. “There will be members of SAG-AFTRA who wish there were no AI. I perceive it. I perceive it. I even sympathize with it. This is not a truth we can create.
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