Voice actress Jennifer Hale has discussed the impact of AI as part of the current SAG-AFTRA voice actors strike, describing it as a hammer that can “smash your skin and destroy who you are.”
Hale is well known for his video game work, including games like Mass Effect (Shepard), Metal Gear Solid (Naomi Hunter), and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Rivet).
“AI is coming for all of us,” Hale said in a new interview with Variety. “Because the truth is, AI is just a tool like a hammer. If I take my hammer, I could build you a house. I can also take that same hammer and I can smash your skin and destroy who you are.”
AI has become a major discussion point in the latest SAG-AFTRA strike, which began in July. After more than a year and a half of negotiations between the actors’ union and major game companies over the use of AI, a deal has not been reached.
“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher. “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.”
Hale explained that SAG-AFTRA’s latest counter offer has been included in the current interim agreement signed by almost 70 developers. The National Association of Voice Actors has also gone before US Congress to protect people’s voice and visual likeness against generative AI.
“If you use something that originated in our body or our voices, can we please get paid?” Hale said. “Because now you’re using technology to take away our ability to feed our kids.”
Hale also suggested a broader systemic issue with the games industry in terms of pay inequality. She was paid just $1200 for her work on Metal Gear Solid, which then grossed approximately $176m.
“What I wish everyone would do was keep asking the current question, which is, ‘there’s a lot of money being made here. Where is it going?’,” she said. “And in the current setup, the way our system operates, and this whole idea of shareholder supremacy, it’s flowing to the one percent. If you flow so much money, you can’t even feed the people who made it possible.”
Pay was a key point of dispute between voice actress Hellena Taylor and Platinum Games following her work on the Bayonetta games, a role Hale took over for Bayonetta 3. “Let’s just be good to each other,” said Hale following a fierce online debate on the topic.
UK actors’ union Equity has not authorized its own strike against video game companies, but stands “in solidarity” with its sister union. This is partly due to the restrictive nature of industrial relations legislation in the UK.
Hale is also not alone in his criticism of AI. Voice actors from Baldur’s Gate 3 revealed the darker side of the game’s success fueled by AI voice cloning.
Still, AI is changing video game development forever.
#hammer #smash #skin #destroy #Jennifer #Hale #SAGAFTRA #strikes
