Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have called the issues behind the labor dispute, and AI in particular, an existential crisis for performers. The likenesses of game voice actors and motion capture artists, they say, could be replicated by AI and used without their consent and without fair compensation.
The union says unregulated use of AI poses “an equal or even greater threat” to artists in the video game industry than in film and television, because the ability to cheaply and easily create convincing digital replicas of artists’ voices is widely available.
SAG-AFTRA negotiators said progress had been made on wages and job security in the video game contract, but the two sides remained divided over regulating generative AI.
A spokeswoman for the video game makers, Audrey Cooling, said the studios offered “significant AI protections to performers in their proposal.” But the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee said the studios’ definition of who constitutes a “performer” is key to understanding the question of who would be protected.
“The industry has told us point-blank that they don’t necessarily consider everyone who is doing movement performances to be an entertainer who is covered by the collective bargaining agreement,” SAG-AFTRA’s director of contracts Ray Rodriguez said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He added that some physical performances are being treated as “data.”
Key points of the strike
Here are five key points about the strike, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday:
Who does the contract cover?
The agreement covers more than 2,500 “off-camera voice artists, on-camera performers (motion capture, stunts), stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers and background artists,” according to SAG-AFTRA.
Which game companies are involved?
The union had been negotiating with an industry group made up of the signatory video game companies, including divisions of Activision and Electronic Arts. Those companies are Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Llama Productions LLC, Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc. and WB Games Inc., the union said.
“We are disappointed that the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to an agreement, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations,” Cooling said.
This is not the first time that video game actors have gone on strike.
Thursday’s job action is the second time SAG-AFTRA video game artists have gone on strike. Their first work stoppage, in October 2016, began after more than a year of failed negotiations. The union and the video game companies reached a tentative agreement 11 months later, in September 2017. At the time, the strike, which helped secure an additional compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists, was the longest in the union’s history, following the merger of Hollywood’s two largest actors unions in 2012.
What do artists ask for?
SAG-AFTRA has said some of the key issues include ensuring wages that keep up with inflation, protections around “exploitative uses” of artificial intelligence and safety precautions that take into account the strain of physical performances as well as vocal stress. Union negotiators told The Associated Press they had made progress on wages and job safety, but that the video game studios refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all of our members.”
“If we had seen sufficient protection for all the performers working on this contract… then we wouldn’t be here today,” Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh said in an interview Thursday afternoon.
AI is the sticking point
While uncontrolled use of artificial intelligence has been a sticking point in negotiations, voice actors and members of the union’s bargaining committee have said they are not against it. However, performers are concerned that uncontrolled use of AI could provide game makers with a means to displace them by training AI to replicate an actor’s voice or create a digital replica of their likeness without consent.
Some also argue that AI could rob less experienced actors of the opportunity to land smaller background roles, such as non-player characters, where they typically cut their teeth before landing larger roles. Uncontrolled use of AI, artists say, could also lead to ethical issues if their voices or likenesses are used to create content they do not morally agree with.
SAG-AFTRA created a separate contract in February covering independent and low-budget video game projects. The tiered-budget independent interactive media agreement contains some of the AI protections that the video game industry bargaining group rejected.
The union also announced a side deal with AI voice company Replica Studios in January that allows major studios to work with unionized actors to create and license a digital replica of their voice. It also sets out terms that allow artists, performers or interpreters to opt out of having their voices used in perpetuity.
FUENTE: AP