While pop culture enthusiasts from around the globe flocked to the first San Diego Comic-Con since last year’s dual writers and actors strikes, video game actors arrived with a mission: to voice their grievances about the unethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in their industry.
Ray Rodriguez, the chief contracts officer of SAG-AFTRA, addressed the issue at Comic-Con. “After 18 months and still getting proposals back as recently as this past week that do not cover all our members and protect all their performances from the unethical use of artificial intelligence,” Rodriguez told Reuters. “At a certain point, you can’t just keep doing what hasn’t been working up until now. And we’ve reached that point where it was time to take this action.”
On Friday, video game voice actors and motion-capture performers initiated a strike over failed contract negotiations centered around AI-related protections for workers, marking another work stoppage in Hollywood. The SAG-AFTRA strike of the Interactive Media Agreement followed months of negotiations with major video game companies, including Activision Productions, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Take-Two Interactive, Disney Character Voices, and Warner Bros Discovery’s WB Games.
Despite the labor dispute, fans celebrated the return of a vibrant Comic-Con filled with A-list stars and writers. Paola Guerrero from Mexico shared her excitement, saying, “I’m really happy because now Hall H is back, exhibitions are back, so it’s going to be great this year and I hope I’m going to see somebody – I don’t know – famous or something.”
SAG-AFTRA and the National Association of Voice Actors hosted panels at the convention to highlight the urgency of the issues they face with AI. Rodriguez elaborated on the concerns, stating, “When you bring a performer in to render a performance, you take their data, you take their likeness, you take their voice and you use a computer to then be able to digitally replicate that to generate new performance that that performer would have otherwise been brought in to do. You are taking their career away. You are alienating from them something that is essential to their personhood and something that is irreplaceable from a career perspective.”
Despite the ongoing dispute, major video game companies continued with their planned convention panels. EA Games notably announced the voice cast for the upcoming “Dragon Age: The Voices of the Vanguard.” The panel, held the day before the strike began, featured voice actors Ali Hillis and Ike Amadi, known for “Mass Effect 3,” and Nick Boraine, known for “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” among others.
As the debate over AI in the industry continues, Comic-Con provided a platform for raising awareness and seeking support for the protection of performers’ rights in the face of advancing technology.
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