Voice actors blindsided by SAG-AFTRA deal with AI company

A deal was announced to the world between American actors union SAG-AFTRA and AI voice actor company Replica Studios late last night at CES. This deal would allow willing voice actors to sign AI voice agreements for future video game projects. This announcement has gone down poorly among those firmly against AI voice over work of any kind. Details of these voice agreement contracts can be found on the SAG-AFTRA website. In this post, these voice agreements are argued as a "fair, ethical agreement" that would apparently allow voice actors to safely license their voices for projects. Described as "an important step towards the ethical use of AI voices in creative projects by game developers", it apparently establishes minimum terms and conditions for those interested and allows those who agree to one of these agreements to opt their voice out of continued use for future projects. This agreement is clearly SAG-AFTRA trying to snatch some degree of power in AI's use in game development for their represented artists, rather than standing against the practice of using AI in the voice over process altogether. SAG-AFTRA executive vice president Linda Powell spoke on behalf of the union at CES, stating the following in a recorded snippet: Read more