Latest news with #AIprotections
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Video game actors' strike officially ends after AI deal
Video game actors have voted to end a year-long strike over artificial intelligence (AI) protections. About 2,500 members of US union SAG-Aftra were involved in the action against 10 of the biggest companies in the industry, including Activision and Electronic Arts. Both sides had spent months hashing out a deal over the use of AI to replicate an actor's performance - and "guardrails" to prevent this from happening. The union said 95% of those who voted had backed the agreement, which also included changes to pay and health and safety protections. Both sides had already been locked in negotiations for about 18 months when the strike began last July. At the time, SAG-Aftra said they had agreed on 24 out of 25 disputed areas but the sticking point was using AI to replicate human performances. The big barrier was a disagreement over motion capture actors whose work was treated as "data" rather than as a performance. In a statement released after the vote to end the strike, the union said a new contract secured "consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replica use". Performers can also withdraw consent in the event of future strikes, it said. Audrey Cooling, spokesperson for the video game companies negotiating with SAG-Aftra, said they were "pleased" members had approved a new Interactive Media Agreement. She said it included "historic wage increases, industry-leading AI protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers". Ashly Burch is a video game actor known for her performances as Tiny Tina in the Borderlands Series and Chloe in adventure game Life is Strange. Speaking to BBC Newsbeat after the strike was suspended so members could vote, Ashly said performers didn't want a total ban on AI in game development. "We just don't want to be replaced by it," she said. She said AI was "arguably a bigger threat to voice and movement performers" than actors in film and TV, and the strike's main goal was guarantees around "consent, transparency, and compensation". "Basically you have to get our consent to make a digital replica of us," she said. "You have to tell us how you're going to use it, and then you have to compensate us fairly." One of Ashly's best-known characters - Aloy from Sony's Horizon series - became a talking point during the strike when an AI-powered prototype of the character leaked. She said the response from fans to the model - which showed the character responding to prompts from a player - was reassuring. "To a person, everyone was like, 'I don't want AI performances in my games,," she added. Ashly has also worked on live-action projects such as Apple TV show Mythic Quest and her recent web series I'm Happy You're Here, focused on mental health. She said both reminded her of what human beings can bring to a role. "And that, to me, as a person that loves games and loves art, is the big risk of AI, that we're going to lose out on really interesting, evocative performances." The video game actors' strike did not affect the entire industry and mostly applied to workers and projects based in the US. And unlike the all-out 2023 Hollywood strike, video game performers were still able to work with companies that signed an interim addressing concerns over AI. Veteran voice actors Robbie Daymond and Ray Chase, who set up their own games studio, tell BBC Newsbeat the arrangement allowed them to continue work on their debut release, Date Everything! The game features a cast of roughly 70 well-known performers who were able to work on the project thanks to the interim deal. But Robbie, who's appeared in Final Fantasy 15 and various anime series, says it has been a tough year for performers in the US. "This was a long strike, and it has been heavily impactful for everybody involved," he says. Robbie says he is aware of people whose income took a hit in an industry where many performers do short stints on multiple projects. "I just hope people understand that when a strike goes on this long and people are talking about how serious it is for them, that it has a real human impact," he says. Video games strike rumbles on in row over AI Esports World Cup: The contest teams can't afford to miss Xbox producer tells staff to use AI to ease job loss pain Ray points out that voice actors had the option of taking work outside of video games, but the strike was especially hard for actors who specialise in motion capture. "If you came out to Los Angeles to be a motion capture actor, then your entire existence is being threatened by AI," he says. "Those guys are heroes for sticking out this long." Ray also points out that the strike will have affected video game developers if they weren't able to hire actors as easily. "Strikes are never easy on on workers. They're never easy on anybody," he says. "We're just so happy that we've found a peaceful resolution, for sure." Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Video-game actors ratify new contract including AI protections, ending strike
Hollywood video-game voice and motion capture actors signed a new contract with video game studios on Wednesday with a focus on artificial intelligence protections, the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, said in a press release, ending a nearly year-long strike. 'AI was the centrepiece of our proposal package,' video-game voice actor and member of the negotiation committee Sarah Elmaleh told Reuters after the new agreement passed. Elmaleh, a voice actor for popular titles like Final Fantasy XV and Call of Duty: Black Ops III, said she knew it was crucial to ensure there was a baseline for how to ethically use AI in the gaming industry. The new protections include consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replica use and the ability for performers to suspend consent for the generation of new material during a strike. 'This deal achieves important progress around AI protections, and progress is the name of the game,' SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in the guild's statement. Opinion: OpenAI, Scarlett Johansson and artificial-intelligence bootlegging The deal applies to video game studios Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions and WB Games. 'On behalf of the video game producers that are party to the agreement, we are pleased that SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a new Interactive Media Agreement, which delivers historic wage increases, industry-leading A.I. protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers,' Audrey Cooling, spokesperson for the video game studios, said in the press release. The new Interactive Media Agreement, which goes into effect immediately, was approved by SAG-AFTRA members by a vote of 95.04 per cent to 4.96 per cent, ratifying the deal and ending the video-game strike, which had been suspended pending ratification. The new contract also offers more performer safety measures, which was a specific concern for motion capture video game performers. 'There are folks who not only give their voices to these characters, but their bodies, and they put their bodies on the line for these characters,' Elmaleh said. Motion capture actors will have medics available during high-risk jobs. Hollywood actors' union SAG-AFTRA strikes deal for advertisers to replicate actors' voices with AI The deal also provides compounded increases in performer pay at a rate of 15.17 per cent upon ratification plus additional three-per-cent increases in November 2025, November 2026 and November 2027. The work stoppage of video game voice actors and motion-capture performers started following failed contract negotiations focused around AI-related protections for workers, bringing about another work stoppage in Hollywood following the dual writers' and actors' strikes in 2023. The strike brought a larger call to action across Hollywood as people in the industry advocate for a law that can protect them from AI risks. The NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan bill in Congress which would make it illegal to make an AI replica of someone's likeness and voice without their permission, has gained support from the SAG-AFTRA performers union, the Motion Picture Association, The Recording Academy and Disney.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Video game actors' strike officially ends after AI deal
Video game actors have voted to end a year-long strike over artificial intelligence (AI) 2,500 members of US union SAG-Aftra were involved in the action against 10 of the biggest companies in the industry, including Activision and Electronic sides had spent months hashing out a deal over the use of AI to replicate an actor's performance - and "guardrails" to prevent this from union said 95% of those who voted had backed the agreement, which also included changes to pay and health and safety protections. Both sides had already been locked in negotiations for about 18 months when the strike began last the time, SAG-Aftra said they had agreed on 24 out of 25 disputed areas but the sticking point was using AI to replicate human big barrier was a disagreement over motion capture actors whose work was treated as "data" rather than as a a statement released after the vote to end the strike, the union said a new contract secured "consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replica use".Performers can also withdraw consent in the event of future strikes, it Cooling, spokesperson for the video game companies negotiating with SAG-Aftra, said they were "pleased" members had approved a new Interactive Media Agreement. She said it included "historic wage increases, industry-leading AI protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers". Ashly Burch is a video game actor known for her performances as Tiny Tina in the Borderlands Series and Chloe in adventure game Life is to BBC Newsbeat after the strike was suspended so members could vote, Ashly said performers didn't want a total ban on AI in game development."We just don't want to be replaced by it," she said AI was "arguably a bigger threat to voice and movement performers" than actors in film and TV, and the strike's main goal was guarantees around "consent, transparency, and compensation"."Basically you have to get our consent to make a digital replica of us," she said."You have to tell us how you're going to use it, and then you have to compensate us fairly."One of Ashly's best-known characters - Aloy from Sony's Horizon series - became a talking point during the strike when an AI-powered prototype of the character said the response from fans to the model - which showed the character responding to prompts from a player - was reassuring. "To a person, everyone was like, 'I don't want AI performances in my games,," she has also worked on live-action projects such as Apple TV show Mythic Quest and her recent web series I'm Happy You're Here, focused on mental health. She said both reminded her of what human beings can bring to a role."And that, to me, as a person that loves games and loves art, is the big risk of AI, that we're going to lose out on really interesting, evocative performances." The video game actors' strike did not affect the entire industry and mostly applied to workers and projects based in the unlike the all-out 2023 Hollywood strike, video game performers were still able to work with companies that signed an interim addressing concerns over voice actors Robbie Daymond and Ray Chase, who set up their own games studio, tell BBC Newsbeat the arrangement allowed them to continue work on their debut release, Date Everything!The game features a cast of roughly 70 well-known performers who were able to work on the project thanks to the interim Robbie, who's appeared in Final Fantasy 15 and various anime series, says it has been a tough year for performers in the US."This was a long strike, and it has been heavily impactful for everybody involved," he says. Robbie says he is aware of people whose income took a hit in an industry where many performers do short stints on multiple projects."I just hope people understand that when a strike goes on this long and people are talking about how serious it is for them, that it has a real human impact," he says. Ray points out that voice actors had the option of taking work outside of video games, but the strike was especially hard for actors who specialise in motion capture."If you came out to Los Angeles to be a motion capture actor, then your entire existence is being threatened by AI," he says. "Those guys are heroes for sticking out this long."Ray also points out that the strike will have affected video game developers if they weren't able to hire actors as easily."Strikes are never easy on on workers. They're never easy on anybody," he says."We're just so happy that we've found a peaceful resolution, for sure." Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Interactive Media Agreement After 320-Day Video Game Strike
SAG-AFTRA members have voted to ratify the new interactive media agreement negotiated after an 11-month strike against video game developers and recording companies that were signatory to the contract. The union announced on Wednesday that 95.04% of members voted in favor of ratification. More from TheWrap SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Interactive Media Agreement After 320-Day Video Game Strike WGA East Leaves Elon Musk's X in Protest of AI Grok's Antisemitic Posts LL Cool J Pulls Out of Philadelphia July 4 Concert in Solidarity With Striking City Workers California Bill Expanding Film and TV Tax Credit Eligibility Passes 'I commend the strong leadership of Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Chair Sarah Elmaleh, who remained steadfast through three years of hard bargaining while facing many challenging headwinds during a challenging negotiation cycle,' SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement. 'This deal achieves important progress around A.I. protections, and progress is the name of the game! My sincere respect goes out to the entire video game performer community and their allies for their solidarity during the strike which provided the necessary leverage to secure this deal's many essential gains.' Unlike SAG-AFTRA's 2023 TV/Theatrical strike, which had a variety of factors that led to the 118-day stoppage, the 320-day IMA strike was spurred solely by artificial intelligence, as the union's bargaining committee did not feel that the companies provided terms that would ensure that performers would have the transparency needed to give their informed consent, if they wished, for companies to make digital replicas of their performances and likeness. As part of the new deal, companies are required to inform performers about all the ways in which AI is planned to be used on their voice, likeness and movements and have their written consent to use the technology. Performers also have the ability to suspend consent of companies to use AI to create replicas of their work during a strike. 'All of us at SAG-AFTRA would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the video game performers and allies who endured a great deal of sacrifice throughout the 11-month strike,' SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in another statement. 'I'd also like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee and its chair, Sarah Elmaleh, who have worked tirelessly for nearly three years in order to achieve these necessary gains and protections alongside our negotiating staff and lead negotiator Ray Rodriguez. Now that the agreement is ratified, video game performers will be able to enjoy meaningful gains and important A.I. protections, which we will continue to build on as uses of this technology settle and evolve.' Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game producers party to the agreement, added, 'We are pleased that SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a new Interactive Media Agreement, which delivers historic wage increases, industry-leading A.I. protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers. We look forward to building on our industry's decades-long partnership with the union and continuing to create groundbreaking entertainment experiences for billions of players worldwide.' Minimum rates will also be established for the use of digital replicas created with union-covered performances. If those performances are created for the purpose of 'real-time generation' — i.e., creating a digital replica-voiced chatbot in a video game — the performer is entitled to at least 7.5x that minimum scale. Developers are also required to send performers that consent to AI usage a report detailing how their replica was used and which calculates their compensation. Due to clauses in the previous IMA that exempted video games developed and released prior to the start of the strike, the impact of the strike on the video game industry wasn't as widely felt as the 2023 TV/film strikes, where all Hollywood production was shut down. But that doesn't mean there wasn't an impact. Riot Games announced this past December that skins in their popular game 'League of Legends' would not come with new voice lines due to the strike. Famed developer Hideo Kojima also noted that his upcoming horror game 'OD,' which he co-wrote with Jordan Peele and stars 'It' actress Sophia Lillis, would be delayed due to the strike. The post SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Interactive Media Agreement After 320-Day Video Game Strike appeared first on TheWrap.
