SAG-AFTRA Reveals Partnership to Help Actors Create AI Replicas

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced last night that they will roll out a plan to assist members in creating digital replicas of themselves to license out for video game work. The announcement, which has surprised and alarmed voice actors who work primarily in gaming, comes not long after final ratification of the new SAG-AFTRA contract. The actors went on strike over the summer, with AI and digital models being a key component of the strike. Critics of SAG-AFTRA's deal said that it did not go far enough in protecting members from abuse by corporations looking to use AI tools to cut actors out of the filmmaking process.

Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show, SAG-AFTRA described their new program as "groundbreaking." It seems to have taken an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach to AI, in the hopes that by doing so, they can help actors control how their likeness is used.

The deal will team the union with Replica Studios. The program "will enable Replica to engage SAG-AFTRA members under a fair, ethical agreement to safely create and license a digital replica of their voice," SAG-AFTRA said in a statement. "Licensed voices can be used in video game development and other interactive media projects from pre-production to final release."

"Replica is proud to partner with SAG-AFTRA to introduce an ethical approach to the emerging use of generative AI. We are excited by the new opportunities this opens up for world-leading AAA studios who can now access the benefits of Replica's AI voice technology while knowing that talent is recognized and compensated fairly for the use of their likeness," said Shreyas Nivas, CEO of Replica Studios. "Our voice actor agreements ensure that game developers using our platform are only accessing licensed talent who have given permission for their voice to be used as a training data set, as opposed to the wild west of AI platforms using unethical data-scraping methods to replicate and synthesize voices without permission."  

The union says their plan has been approved by "affected members" of the voiceover acting community, characterizing it as a way for union members to explore options in the rapidly evolving AI market without being taken advantage of. There are very few details in the announcement, including exactly which or how many actors signed off on the plan. IGN has a roundup of negative reactions from the voiceover community, many of whom said some version of "this is the first I'm hearing of this."

"Artificial intelligence has dominated the headlines, and for most performers, the best protection against the unauthorized digital simulation of their voice, likeness and/or performance is a SAG-AFTRA contract. We are so happy to partner with Replica Studios, because this is a great example of AI being done right," said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher.

"Recent developments in AI technology have underscored the importance of protecting the rights of voice talent, particularly as game studios explore more efficient ways to create their games," said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. "With this agreement, we have achieved fully informed consent and fair compensation when it comes to the use of our members' voices and performances. We are proud to work with Replica in leading the way to make it easy for these companies to access SAG-AFTRA's world-renowned talent in an ethical manner that ensures consent and fair compensation for their contributions. This agreement also paves the way for other companies to follow their lead."