The Screen Actors Guild – SAG-AFTRA – has announced it’s striking against the videogame industry over its use of AI. “Enough is enough,” it says.
In a move that could greatly disrupt videogame development if the situation isn’t defused quickly, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) has voted to go on strike against the interactive entertainment industry – largely over a disagreement over the use of AI-generated voices and likenesses in games.
The strike will start just after noon on Friday, 16th July in the US, and comes after the guild failed to reach an agreement with a a panel of major videogame companies which includes Activision-Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros Games and Take Two.
“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement shared by TheWrap. “Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live – and work – with, we will be here, ready to negotiate.”
Pointing out that the videogame industry is worth billions, SAG-AFTRA executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland added that the guild is demanding the “same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming and music: fair compensation and the informed consent for the AI use of their faces, voice and bodies.”
If there were any doubt that some sectors of the videogame industry hasn’t already embraced generative AI, an article on Wired published on the 23rd July revealed that Activision-Blizzard had already begun laying off staff and essentially automating their jobs using AI software. Artists have been particularly affected according to the article, with the publisher reportedly having already put out an AI-generated cosmetic item for sale on its Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 store.
Most significantly, the Wired piece points out that, unlike the film industry, the videogame sector is largely un-unionised, leaving workers vulnerable to executives making sweeping decisions that could leave hundreds of people without jobs.
Understandably, SAG-AFTRA is having none of it, and Crabtree-Ireland points to how significantly last year’s strikes – also partly over the use of AI – disrupted the Hollywood film industry.
“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 us in that,” he said.
Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the videogame publishers negotiating with SAG-AFTRA, said those on that side of the fence are “disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations.”
More on this potentially long-running story as we get it.
