Following yesterday's announcement of an agreement with gaming AI voice company Replica Studios, actors' union SAG-AFTRA is not backing down despite widespread criticism.
The union published the full text of the agreement, a summary, and a FAQ trying to explain its rationale for the agreement.
It also hosted a livestream on Instagram in which Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh and National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland spoke about the agreement.
Yet, the union seemed particularly keen on silencing opposition to the agreement, as the comments on the livestreams were turned off, as mentioned by many in response to the Tweets advertising it.
Of course, the union wasn't able to quiet down comments on social media platforms, where the general reaction appears to continue to be overwhelmingly negative.
The FAQ explains that the agreement was bargained and "unanimously approved" by the Interactive Media Negotiating Committee. It claims that said committee is made up of actors who regularly work in the video game industry.
The names of such actors are not disclosed besides the committee's chair, the aforementioned Sarah Elmaleh. You may know her for voicing Korsica in Hi-Fi Rush, Katie Greenbriar in Gone Home, the female player in Anthem, Elizabeth Carmine in Gears 5, and more roles.
We read that the committee members were "involved throughout the negotiation process, including in setting the minimum terms for negotiations. They also had the opportunity to meet with Replica Studios to ask questions and provide feedback directly to its founder and CEO."
Following the approval by the committee, the agreement was unanimously approved by SAG-AFTRA’s Executive Committee.
We also hear that the union was able to bypass the need for a member referendum as this is a deal with a single company, which needs to be approved only by the Executive Committee and doesn't require the approval of the members.
The FAQ claims that the one-year term of the agreement is "experimental" as it allows to negotiate adjustments should new circumstances arise.
It also mentions that the agreement includes "scratch tracks" (placeholder tracks created during a game's development and not intended for publication) as an example of a new revenue stream for actors opened up by the contract.
The document acknowledges that "some" members strongly oppose any use of AI in entertainment, but claims that there "are also members who would engage with new technologies under the right circumstances."
As a professional writer with over two decades under my belt, I can certainly recognize when "some" is used on purpose to make an opinion feel less widespread than it is.
The FAQ goes on to claim that the AI voice industry is already developing as foreign and non-union companies are terms that are below what SAG-AFTRA's members expect or are highly exploitative.
As such, the union doubles down on the idea that "the Replica Studios Agreement is an important step toward setting fair terms that will protect our members in this new space into the future"
Voice acting isn't the only field in which the industry has started exploring the use of generative AI, with developers and publishers like Microsoft, Square Enix, and Ubisoft expressing their interest and sealing deals with specialized companies.
