How Harrison Ford brought a strike over video game AI to the world’s attention

Voice actors demanding compensation when AI generates performances from their work have taken industrial action since July

When Harrison Ford spoke to the Wall Street Journal last week, praising the performance of voice actor Troy Baker in the recent video game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, he was doing much more than recognising a great impression of himself. You don't need artificial intelligence to steal my soul," he told the paper. You can already do it for nickels and dimes with good ideas and talent. [Baker] did a brilliant job, and it didn't take AI to do it."

Video game performers in the SAG-AFTRA union have been on strike since July, the major issue being the use of generative AI in the games industry. The union wants members to be compensated when AI performances are generated from their work, and demands consent and transparency around Gen AI technology. Major video game publishers such as Activision Blizzard, Disney, Warner Bros and Electronic Arts are involved in the dispute, and several recent titles including Destiny 2: Heresy and Genshin Impact have been affected, with English-language voice performances missing. AI voice synthesis is being touted as a means of cutting costs in an industry where game budgets are spiralling, but such technologies imperil actors' livelihoods while relying on their work to seed virtual performances. Plus, the budgetary benefits of the tech are still in question.