SAG-AFTRA, the world’s largest labor union for performing artists, announced at CES 2024 that it signed an agreement with Replica Studios, an artificial intelligence voice technology company. The deal allows union members to license digital replicas of actors’ voices to use in video games.
Only For Video Games (as of now)
The ability of AI to mimic the voices and likenesses of famous individuals has become increasingly controversial over time. For example, a music producer by the name Ghostwriter released a track called “Heart on My Sleeve” which uses generative AI to replicate the voices of Drake and The Weeknd despite neither of the two stars reportedly having anything to do with the track. This raised debate about eligibility for the Grammys, and Ghostwriter said he believed artists should serve to financially benefit if AI were able to copy distinct voices.
This deal represents the first time a group like SAG-AFTRA, which went on strike last year for matters related to AI until reaching a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, has codified compensation and consent for replicas of performers.
According to Jeffrey Bennet, SAG-AFTRA general counsel, “Before we started negotiating these terms, the position of the studios was [that] they did not need consent to create replicas,” Bennett said. “So, if you fast-forward from the position that they took as early as January 2023 to the position we now have with these contract terms and some of the legislation that’s coming, we have flipped that whole narrative on its head. They recognize now they can’t do this without consent.”
Although this agreement is strictly related to video games, other agreements may be reached for different kinds of vocal performances, like TV commercials and music.
At the moment, SAG-AFTRA Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has confirmed that the agreement currently does NOT cover the use of performer voices to train language models. This has been scrutinized by notable figures like George R.R. Martin, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire series, who has sued OpenAI like others for allegedly using published works to train ChatGPT.
Crabtree-Ireland said he saw no reason as to why the estates of deceased performers could not agree to use their voices under the new licensing agreement.
Industry Backlash
After receiving backlash from union members, SAG-AFTRA has clarified that the agreement was made by the Interactive Media Negotiating Committee in a process that has been “years in the making.” Furthermore, the contract was not required to be sent out to union members as it “only sets terms for a single company.”
Actors’ Compensation
Actors are to receive standard union compensation for the initial recording session necessary to create a digital replica, with further compensation if they want Replica to continue after a certain amount of time. Compensation can be negotiated by actors for a Replica using previously recorded material (minimum payment is equivalent to a standard recording session).
The digital replica of actors can be licensed for use in video games, with payment for every 300 lines of dialogue or 3,000 words. Studios can also pay actors to receive access to their digital replicas for pre-production.
This agreement is considered “experimental”, with a limited team of one-year to serve as a “test run” for AI in gaming.