That year, Jennifer Hale, the voice of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect, joined her fellow voice actors on the picket line during the SAG-AFTRA strike 2023.
Yet, while the fight is for equal remuneration or better terms of work, it is much more a fight for the survival of the occupation. “AI is coming for all of us,” she said, referring to the topics that voice actors have discussed recently regarding the growing role of artificial intelligence in games.
In reality, Hale’s words are not just a mere flamboyant statement but rather the reveille. Imagine this: Ignoring that you’ve been practising this for about twenty years, you breathed life into characters through your voice.
Then, suddenly, the machine mimics that voice and gives you infinite variations that sound the same without asking your permission. In short, this is not a futuristic fiction negative future – this is the real today that faces voice actors.
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Jennifer Hale Wakes Everyone up about how AI is becoming a threat to voice actors.
It was not just the usual compensation issues we saw with the SAG-AFTRA strike. In short, it meant that they did not favour egregious AI adoption in the entertainment industry. That is why AI is a possibility and a threat to voice actors like Hale.
On one hand, it can simplify some of the less exciting tasks involved in voice work. On the other hand, it also imitates a performer’s voice to the extent that it can spare actors from needing to perform live.
In an interview with Hale, she voiced concern that the technology can be abused, thus losing the ability to control one’s voice. Most in the industry feel it is a common sentiment as more developers start incorporating AI voices into their end products.
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Navigating a new era: strikes, consent, and the fight for voice actors’ rights
As the debate over AI in voice acting heats up, it’s clear that control and consent are central to the issue. Voice actors want to ensure they have the final say in how their voices are used. A sentiment echoed throughout the industry. The recent strike was as much about establishing guidelines for AI usage as it was about paychecks.
The pushback against AI in video games is part of a larger conversation about the role of technology in creative industries. The concerns are evident. If AI can generate a character’s voice, what stops it from replacing the nuanced performances that human actors bring to their roles?
As we navigate this new era, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The future of voice acting and the livelihoods of those who dedicate their lives to it hangs in the balance.
Ultimately, the voices that shape our games may no longer be human, but the fight to keep them is as real as it gets.
