The main video game developers, such as Activision, Warner Bros, and Walt Disney, are facing a Hollywood artists strike over the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
The strike comes after a year and a half of negotiations over a new contract between the companies and a union representing more than 2,500 video game artists.
Both parties claim to have reached an agreement on several key issues, such as wages and job security, but protections related to the use of AI technology remain a significant obstacle.
Who is protesting and what is at stake in this strike
The strike was called by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra), which last year paralyzed Hollywood with a strike by film and television actors.
Interpreters are concerned that video game studios use generative AI to reproduce their voices and physical appearance to animate video game characters without offering them fair compensation.
“Although agreements have been reached on many issues… the employers refuse to clearly state, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect all interpreters covered by this contract in their AI language,” Sag-Aftra said in a statement.
However, video game studios have stated that they have already made enough concessions to the union’s demands.
The Interactive Media Agreement covers artists who provide voice-over services and on-camera work used to create video game characters.
The last agreement of this kind, which did not offer protection to performers, expired in November 2022, but it has been extended monthly while the conversations continued.
The 118-day strike was the longest in the 90-year history of the union and resulted in the greatest victory for actors and screenwriters. Hopefully our colleagues in the video game industry will be able to achieve their demands. Stay strong and keep fighting!
Author: Chema Carvajal Sarabia
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