Artificial intelligence is here to stay, and it is changing all kinds of jobs in industries related to computing, video games, and similar fields. The most well-known actors’ organization in the United States, SAG-AFTRA, confirmed the voice actor strike. This is due to the unfair use of AI technologies to generate voices without their consent.
The strike began at the start of the month and is still ongoing. Numerous prominent figures in the gaming industry have expressed their opinions on the issue, and most recently, Amazon Games Boss stated that, in technical terms, voicing a character does not constitute acting. Social media users have taken this comment as an insult and expressed outrage.
The Voice Actors Strike Continues and Has Now Escalated to a New Level
This is not the first time that the acting industry, whether in movies, series, or video games, has complained about the misuse of AI without permission and consent.
Many companies have opted to use this technology to replicate actors’ voices and use them for their own benefit. Although contracts purport to cover this practice, the studios view it as unfair. For these and many other reasons, the voice actors strike is live.
The Amazon Games boss, Christoph Hartmann, commented on the voice actors’ strike, stating that they have nothing to worry about in terms of AI because what they do is not considered acting.
What the fuck is he on about, the concerns about ai are about jobs and shit art, not ‘acting’ ai has been used for ‘acting’ in games for decades.
— Tuna Jam (@tuna_jam) August 23, 2024
Naturally, this sparked all kinds of negative reactions from gamers who sided with the voice actors, saying that without them, many of the big games wouldn’t have been as successful. Hartmann, intentionally or not, insulted numerous talented actors.
The Head of Amazon Games Makes a Highly Unfortunate Comment
This was part of an interview in which Hartmann discussed the use of AI and how it would benefit development rather than negatively impact it. He also stated that the world of video games does not require acting but rather relies heavily on programming.
Clearly, the head of Amazon Games spoke without thinking, or at least without considering everything involved in creating a large-scale game. Now, more than ever, acting is a vital part of the process.
The voice actor strike continues with SAG-AFTRA in the center of it, and it seems that a resolution is not yet in sight as companies refuse to include clauses in contracts that prohibit the use of AI in the future.
Companies often require actors to fully relinquish their likeness in these contracts, and even if they use the same or AI-generated lines in the future, the talent receives no compensation, resulting in a highly unfair exchange.
Many companies have been quite vocal about the use of AI, with some having no problem starting to implement it. Others say that it’s still too early and that, for the moment, they don’t want to do so to avoid controversy and not take jobs away from anyone.
This technology is here to change everything, and the media in general as well as artists are still learning how to adapt to these changes.
What are your thoughts on this person’s statement? Let us know in the comments!
