SAG-AFTRA Reaches AI Voice Agreement for Video Game Narration

AI audio design company Replica Studios has reached an agreement with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) to use AI-generated voices for video game narration.

SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios Introduce Groundbreaking AI Voice Agreement at CES https://t.co/9OmYhDswiy

— SAG-AFTRA NEWS (@sagaftranews) January 9, 2024

The agreement sets rules for how union members’ voices can be used. Specifically, Replica has been granted rights to create “audio doubles” of actors in games with their consent.

The agreement allows SAG-AFTRA members to withdraw their voice from future projects at any time.

“For most performers, the best protection against unauthorized digital replication of their voice, likeness, and/or performance is a SAG-AFTRA contract,” stated the organization’s head, Fran Drescher.

SAG-AFTRA’s Executive Director Duncan Crabtree emphasized that the agreement ensures “full informed consent [with AI companies] and fair compensation.”

According to Replica representatives, the gaming industry also benefits from convenient and licensed access to AI sound technologies.

Previously, this area was described as a “Wild West of AI platforms using unethical data scraping methods to replicate and synthesize voices without permission.”

The agreement was signed a month after the end of SAG-AFTRA’s 118-day strike against the use of AI in the film industry, which concluded with a contract regulating the use of new technologies.

According to Mashable, the Guild has been exploring the potential impact of generative AI on its members’ welfare since 2018.

Earlier, on January 5, U.S. writers Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the companies of stealing their works to train AI models. Prior to this, The New York Times filed a similar lawsuit against the firms.