SAG-AFTRA voice and mocap gaming actors strike over AI concerns

Members of SAG-AFTRA's video games branch are advised to strike as negotiations for AI protections hit a wall.

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Video game voice and motion-capture actors represented by SAG-AFTRA are called upon to strike, a new announcement has confirmed. The strike comes after 1 1/2 years of negotiations with billion-dollar publishers like Activision and Electronic Arts for guaranteed protections against AI in their contract policies--e.g. how voice and body image captures are used in proprietary AI technologies. The strike will start on July 26 at 12:01am.

"Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable A.I. protections, but rather flagrant exploitation," Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh said in the press release.

"We're not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members. 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."

--SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher

"The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually. The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games.

That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the A.I. use of their faces, voices, and bodies.

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 A.I., and the public supports us in that."

--SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland

"Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable A.I. protections, but rather flagrant exploitation.

"We refuse this paradigm - we will not leave any of our members behind, nor will we wait for sufficient protection any longer.

"We look forward to collaborating with teams on our Interim and Independent contracts, which provide A.I. transparency, consent and compensation to all performers, and to continuing to negotiate in good faith with this bargaining group when they are ready to join us in the world we all deserve."

--Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh