Here’s what we know about the SAG-AFTRA AI voice acting licensing deal
By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.
During CES 2024, SAG-AFTRA announced an agreement with AI voice technology company Replica Studios. The agreement would permit SAG-AFTRA members, specifically voice performers, to work with Replica to create digital replications of their voices. Those voices can then be licensed out for use in video games and other interactive media projects with SAG-AFTRA authored protections.
In the announcement, SAG-AFTRA characterized the deal as a “way for professional voice over artists to safely explore new employment opportunities for their digital voice replicas with industry-leading protections tailored to AI technology.” However, as news of the deal reached the voice performer community at large, the reaction was less positive with performers either outright condemning the deal or voicing concerns about what this deal means for the future health and viability of their profession.
“Love how we’re paying dues to a union that will throw our jobs to AI and then claim we all agreed to it,” wrote Emi Lo, a voice performer with roles in Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail,on X.
“I think the first thing that I would just say is I think there are quite a large number of members who are very pleased with this announcement,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator told The Verge in an interview. “And I think sometimes it’s a mistake to hear a certain number of voices, even if they’re raised in a very concerned or agitated tone as being representative of the entirety of the membership that work this contract or work in this area.”
Crabtree-Ireland
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