The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has announced a "landmark AI Voice Agreement," according to the union's website. Despite claims that the pact was "approved by affected members of the union's voice-over performer community," many industry veterans feel their voices have not been heard.

This agreement with Replicator Studios aims to "pave the way for professional voice-over artists to safely explore new employment opportunities in digital voice replication with industry-leading protections tailored to AI technology."

Specific details have not yet been disclosed outside of the press release, but according to the announcement, the agreement will allow SAG-AFTRA actors to license their talent (replicated by AI) in "video game development and other interactive media projects" . in "video game development and other interactive media projects.

The use of artificial intelligence is a particularly pressing topic for voice actors, and for SAG-AFTRA itself; SAG-AFTRA overwhelmingly approved the strike in September 2023, citing concerns about "exploitative AI" as one reason for its decision. This makes the current situation even stranger.

Steve Blum, a prolific voice actor best known for his roles as Grant in "Mass Effect 2" and Ogren in "Dragon Age": speaking on Twitter/X about the agreement, he said, "No one in our community has approved this."

Similar reactions have flooded in from other voice-over industry insiders. For that reason, I need to itemize them for readability:

This is still a simplified list, gleaned from the responses I received from the immediate public. It is fair to say that the union's decision was not accepted by a significant portion of the community it claims to represent. However, a significant portion does not mean "all."

SAG-AFTRA is the primary union representing a wide range of talent across the industry. The primary problem with this statement is the complete lack of available information about both the agreement itself and the steps taken to reach it. It is unclear whether this is a genuine turnaround or simply a matter of poor communication.

As for the AI-generated work, one could argue, metaphorically, that the cat is already out of the bag, i.e., that SAG-AFTRA's protections are intended to ensure that the voice actors continue to benefit from their work. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union's national executive director and chief negotiator, certainly seems to think so:

"This agreement provides our members with informed consent and fair compensation for the use of their voices and performances. We are proud to lead the way in working with Replicas to ensure that these companies have easy access to SAG-AFTRA's world-renowned talent in an ethical manner that guarantees consent and fair compensation for their contributions. This agreement also paves the way for others to follow SAG-AFTRA's lead"

.

One could argue that just because it feels compelling doesn't mean it is; as fellow PC Gamer writer Joshua Warrens recently put it: "Don't let the C-suite of the world fool you into thinking that the changes they want are inevitable. . It is certainly too late to uncork the bottle after the technology has been released to the world, but industry regulation is another story altogether.

Replication Studios actually has a page of examples of this. As one might expect, it's pretty bad. It's not as if these particular AI voices will soon be able to compete with working voice actors (at least not for projects worth mentioning), and they are rightly condemned.

But it is also naive to think that AI-generated art, voices, and writing will remain unstable and error-ridden forever. We have not yet reached the limits of what AI can do, and AI has already come a long way in a few years.

Perhaps the AI licensing future proposed by SAG-AFTRA is really the only option for actors. However, I am shocked to see so many industry professionals who were not consulted. We have asked SAG-AFTRA for comment on this particular part of the issue and will update this article when we hear back.