The Future is Here. 

The rapid rise of AI technologies is no longer a distant concept; it’s impacting industries in real-time, with video game actors at the forefront of this shift. In July 2024, negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and major game companies like Activision, Disney, and Warner Bros broke down over the issue of AI. The union, representing 160,000 workers, had successfully negotiated many terms, but AI-related concerns brought talks to a standstill. As of mid-September, this situation continues unresolved. 

Voice actors, who lend their voices to characters, and motion-capture actors, who provide physical performances and expressions, are crucial to the video game industry. However, they now face the unsettling reality that their work could be replicated or replaced by AI. The biggest fear is that game developers will use actors' voices and likenesses to train AI models that could eventually replace human performers entirely. Imagine a world where a “digital double” could perform flawlessly, eliminating the need for the original actor. 

It’s astonishing that in the 2016 contract, AI wasn’t even a topic of discussion. Now, it’s the central issue. As generative AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, these concerns extend beyond gaming, raising questions about the future of human involvement in entertainment. What if Hollywood didn’t need to spend on actors? What if AI could deliver perfect performances every time, with no need for retakes? 

This ongoing struggle illustrates that the future isn’t something to anticipate—it’s here now, reshaping industries and redefining the roles of those within them. For game actors, the battle for their digital rights marks just the beginning of a broader conversation about AI’s role in our lives. 

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