The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has filed a complaint against Epic Games’ subsidiary, Llama Productions, over the replacement of actors with artificial intelligence in the game Fortnite. This situation has sparked outrage following an incident where an AI version of Darth Vader made racist remarks during the Galactic Battles themed event.
This is reported by Business • Media
SAG-AFTRA’s Complaint Against Epic Games
SAG-AFTRA claims that the company violated labor agreements by not conducting prior negotiations regarding the use of AI for character voiceovers. The document states, “This case concerns the critically important role of the union in negotiations over the replacement of human labor with AI technologies. We support the use of AI as a tool to enhance audience experience, but employers do not have the right to make such decisions without discussion with the union.”
Issues Related to the Use of AI
According to SAG-AFTRA, Epic Games did not notify the union of its intention to use AI to create the character’s voice, which is a violation of existing labor agreements. “We learned about this from a press release,” said a union representative.
Actors who are members of SAG-AFTRA have been on strike since July 2024, and the issue of AI use in video games and dubbing is one of the key points in negotiations. SAG-AFTRA is urging the National Labor Relations Board to officially investigate the case and recognize the violations by Llama Productions.
If violations are found, the company may be required to reinstate actors, provide compensation, and inform employees of their rights. The National Labor Relations Board does not impose fines but can take other actions.
Epic Games has not yet commented on the situation, and the union did not reach out to the company prior to filing the complaint. The issue of controlling digital copies of the voices of actors who have already passed away also remains unresolved, as the heirs of famous actors have rights over the use of their voices.
“Over the past six months, the company has unilaterally changed working conditions without notifying the union and without providing an opportunity for discussion, using AI voices instead of people.”
It is worth noting that in September 2023, a group of American writers filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for the illegal use of their books to train large language models.