Current:Home > StocksVideo game performers will go on strike over artificial intelligence concerns -Dynamic Wealth Solutions
Video game performers will go on strike over artificial intelligence concerns
View
Date:2025-04-11 16:37:28
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks for a new contract with major game studios broke down over artificial intelligence protections.
The strike — the second for video game voice actors and motion capture performers under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists — will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday. The move comes after nearly two years of negotiations with gaming giants, including divisions of Activision, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Co., over a new interactive media agreement.
SAG-AFTRA negotiators say gains have been made over wages and job safety in the video game contract, but that the studios will not make a deal over the regulation of generative AI. Without guardrails, game companies could train AI to replicate an actor’s voice, or create a digital replica of their likeness without consent or fair compensation, the union said.
Fran Drescher, the union’s president, said in a prepared statement that members would not approve a contract that would allow companies to “abuse AI.”
“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,” Drescher said.
A representative for the studios did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The global video game industry generates well over $100 billion dollars in profit annually, according to game market forecaster Newzoo. The people who design and bring those games to life are the driving force behind that success, SAG-AFTRA said.
“Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable AI protections, but rather flagrant exploitation,” said Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh.
Last month, union negotiators told The Associated Press that the game studios refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all our members” — specifically, movement performers.
Members voted overwhelmingly last year to give leadership the authority to strike. Concerns about how movie studios will use AI helped fuel last year’s film and television strikes by the union, which lasted four months.
The last interactive contract, which expired November 2022, did not provide protections around AI but secured a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists after an 11-month strike that began October 2016. That work stoppage marked the first major labor action from SAG-AFTRA following the merger of Hollywood’s two largest actors unions in 2012.
The video game agreement covers more than 2,500 “off-camera (voiceover) performers, on-camera (motion capture, stunt) performers, stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers, and background performers,” according to the union.
Amid the tense interactive negotiations, SAG-AFTRA created a separate contract in February that covered indie and lower-budget video game projects. The tiered-budget independent interactive media agreement contains some of the protections on AI that video game industry titans have rejected.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- How to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' for free: Special date, streaming info
- 'Mary': How to stream, what biblical experts think about Netflix's new coming
- Drew Barrymore has been warned to 'back off' her guests after 'touchy' interviews
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Jim Leach, former US representative from Iowa, dies at 82
- Atmospheric river and potential bomb cyclone bring chaotic winter weather to East Coast
- American who says he crossed into Syria on foot is freed after 7 months in detention
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Follow Your Dreams
Ranking
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after judge rejects The Onion’s winning auction bid
- Amazon's Thank My Driver feature returns: How to give a free $5 tip after delivery
- The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- US inflation likely edged up last month, though not enough to deter another Fed rate cut
- Southern California forecast of cool temps, calm winds to help firefighters battle Malibu blaze
- Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed ahead of key US inflation data
Recommendation
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
The Sundance Film Festival unveils its lineup including Jennifer Lopez, Questlove and more
Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, Dec. 10 drawing: $619 million lottery jackpot
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, Dec. 10 drawing: $619 million lottery jackpot
We can't get excited about 'Kraven the Hunter.' Don't blame superhero fatigue.
Through 'The Loss Mother's Stone,' mothers share their grief from losing a child to stillbirth