Actors are back on strike for an entirely unsurprising reason: Studios aren’t willing to give video game actors enough protection from artificial intelligence.
Video game performers with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) went on strike on Thursday, calling AI protections “the sticking point” in ongoing negotiations with major game studios.
“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said of the strike. “When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live – and work – with, we will be here, ready to negotiate.”
The move comes nearly a year after union members authorized a wider strike with practically unanimous approval. That industrial action was authorized in the midst of a nearly four-month actor strike that also included concerns over studios scanning actors’ likenesses for future AI replication.
SAG-AFTRA said in early September 2023 that it was concerned video game (a.k.a. “interactive media”) actors could suffer the same AI abuses after their bargaining agreement with studios expired in 2022 and talks stalled.
Strike authorization votes don’t mean withdrawal of labor begins immediately, but put extra pressure on studios to cave to union demands. With those demands appearing to fall on deaf ears, SAG-AFTRA is taking action against the studios it’s been trying to negotiate with for the past 18 months.
Studios affected include Activision Blizzard, Disney, Electronic Arts, Sony subsidiary Insomniac Games, and others.
“Although agreements have been reached on many issues important to SAG-AFTRA members, the employers refuse to plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect all performers covered by this contract in their AI language,” SAG-AFTRA said of the now-official strike.
Like well-known actors cloned by AI for advertisements without their permission, the union is concerned the off-screen performances of their members working in the interactive media space could be cloned and used without their permission too.
Essentially, AI models might be used to reproduce those performances without due compensation for or consent from the person depicted, leaving performers out of pocket.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, SAG-AFTRA chief contract negotiator Ray Rodriguez said voice actors aren’t the only ones worried – motion capture actors and physical performers could have their work cloned as well.
“The industry has told us point blank that they do not necessarily consider everyone who is rendering movement performance to be a performer that is covered by the collective bargaining agreement,” Rodriguez said, adding that in some cases physical performances are being treated as “data” and not the work of an actor.
“We strike as a matter of last resort,” Rodriguez said during his press conference. “We have given this process absolutely as much time as we responsibly can.”
A spokesperson for the studios involved in the negotiations told us they were disappointed the union walked away from negotiations “when we are so close to a deal.”
“We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions,” studio rep Audrey Cooling told The Register. “Our offer is directly responsive to SAG-AFTRA’s concerns and extends meaningful AI protections that include requiring consent and fair compensation to all performers working under the [Interactive Media Agreement]. These terms are among the strongest in the entertainment industry.” ®
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