Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
02-08-2024
NEW YOEK: Actors from the world of gaming went on strike last week, in a row about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the threat it poses to their livelihoods. It has reignited the debate about how the entertainment industry is adapting to new technology.
When actor Jennifer Hale talks, you listen. Her delivery is measured and surgically precise, yet her tone has a warmth that most ASMR creators would envy. She could read the phone book and you’d pay attention.
It’s unsurprising, then, that her voice is her livelihood, and that she takes the threat to her industry posed by AI so seriously.
“They see that the work of our souls is nothing more than a commodity to generate profits for them,” she says of several of the major gaming companies. “They don’t see that they’re crushing human beings beneath their feet in blind pursuit of money and profit, it’s disgusting.”
From Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect series to Samus Arran in the Metroid titles, Hale’s list of gaming credits is as long as your arm and her voice is familiar to millions.
Hale is one of the most high-profile voice actors in the world. She’s joined 2,500 members of the US actors union SAG-AFTRA who perform in games, by striking until games divisions of prominent companies like Activision, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney and EA agree to protections around the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
She tells media; “they could, for example, take all my performances in a game, let’s say Mass Effect, feed them into a machine, not too long down the timeline, spit out an entirely new Mass Effect, with a performance that was entirely generated by AI.”
Concerns about AI were one of the key issues in last year’s 118-day actors strike organised by SAG-AFTRA. Terms were eventually agreed with Hollywood studios for film and TV actors but the dispute around videogames has rumbled on, finally boiling over into a strike on 25 July. While both sides have agreed on a host of issues, AI protections remains a sticking point.
Hale may be one of the most successful voice actors in the business but in contrast to those who work in front of the camera and despite the games industry generating revenue estimated to be around $189bn (£147bn) in 2024, voice acting in games is considerably less well paid than film and TV work.
“I’m a single working mother who has bills to pay and a life to provide for my kid, as voice actors we don’t get paid star salaries. Under what they’re proposing on the other side of this contract, they would pay me nothing.”
Audrey Cooling, a representative of the 10 game companies negotiating with the union, told media; “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 IMA (Interactive Media Agreement).”
This is an ongoing deal to cover artists working in video games. Hale argues not all games companies are the problem, some businesses can and are making deals which work for all sides.
“Anybody sitting in their basement, anywhere making a game can go to SAG and say, hey, my budget is small, I only have this much money. I really want to work with these good actors. What can I do in SAG will say, absolutely, here you go, how big are you? Great here’s your structure.”
She adds this strike might be a symptom of a growing unease in the wider workplace with AI. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
