Voice Actor Explains the 2024 SAG AFTRA Video Game Strike

Summary

The video discusses the 2024 SAG-AFTRA strike, focusing on the union's demand for protections against the unauthorized use of actors' voices, faces, and likenesses by AI. The strike highlights the existential threat AI poses to actors' livelihoods, emphasizing the need for clear contract language to prevent exploitation. The video explains the specific scope of the strike, debunks common misconceptions, and encourages solidarity while urging both actors and consumers to stay informed and approach the issue with empathy and understanding.

Takeaways

• 📜 The actor's Union is on strike due to a conflict regarding the use of actors' voices and likenesses in AI without compensation.
• 🤝 The Union is seeking a contract that explicitly prevents companies from using actors' voices in AI models without their consent or payment.
• 🔄 The 2024 strike is more straightforward compared to the 2016 video game strike, focusing on a single issue of AI usage rights.
• 📝 Some contracts have outdated language that could be misinterpreted to allow AI usage of actors' voices without proper compensation.
• 💡 The Union is not asking for more money but rather for ethical and legal protection against the misuse of their voices by AI.
• 🚫 The strike is specifically targeting the interactive media agreement, not all contracts under the Union's umbrella.
• 🎮 Not all video games are affected by the strike; only those under the interactive media agreement with specific companies.
• 🛑 A company can cease being struck by signing an interim agreement that includes AI protections, allowing actors to work on their projects again.
• 🔍 There are resources available for actors and consumers to check if a project is struck or not, such as forms on the Union's website.
• 🚷 Union actors are prohibited from promoting struck projects, but they can still support non-union games or those outside the Union's jurisdiction.
• 🤔 The strike highlights the broader issue of AI and its impact on jobs, urging for clear contracts and ethical considerations in the industry.

Q & A

What is the primary reason for the actor's union strike in 2024?

The primary reason for the strike is the union's demand for companies to not use actors' voices, likenesses, or faces to make money without compensating them, especially in the context of AI usage and simulations.

Why did the 2016 strike by the actor's union differ from the 2024 strike?

The 2016 strike was more complicated due to numerous issues, including arguments about actors wanting more money or different working conditions. In contrast, the 2024 strike is more straightforward, focusing on the ethical and moral implications of AI usage without compensation.

What does the actor's union consider as an existential issue in 2024?

The existential issue for the actor's union in 2024 is the fear that companies may legally take actors' voices and livelihoods to create models without paying them, which could lead to actors' voices being used indefinitely in simulations.

What loopholes in contracts are actors concerned about regarding AI usage?

Actors are concerned about outdated contract language that could be interpreted to include AI usage. For example, contracts from the 1980s that allowed companies to 'simulate' an actor's voice for editing purposes could now be interpreted to mean indefinite use in AI without compensation.

What is the actor's union asking for in terms of contract changes?

The actor's union is asking for the inclusion of protective language in contracts to prevent the unauthorized use of actors' voices for AI training or simulations without compensation.

How does the actor's union define a strike, and what does it mean for different contracts under the union's umbrella?

A strike by the actor's union refers to a specific contract under dispute, not the entire union. Each contract, such as film and TV, commercials, interactive media (including video games), animation, and dubbing, has its own rate structure, working conditions, and companies signed on.

What misconceptions about the strike does the video script aim to clear up?

The script aims to clarify that the strike is specific to the interactive media agreement, not all video games or union projects. It also emphasizes that not all companies are under a collective bargaining agreement with the union, and not all actors are required to strike.

What is the low-budget tiered interactive media agreement, and how does it relate to the strike?

The low-budget tiered interactive media agreement is a sub-agreement for smaller budget or indie games, which is not under the strike. This means that small budget games can still work with and afford union actors during the strike.

How can a company resume working with union actors during the strike?

A company can resume working with union actors by signing an interim bargaining agreement that includes AI protections, effectively making the project 'unstruck' as soon as the agreement is signed.

What are the implications for actors who are not part of the union or working on non-union projects?

Actors who are not part of the union or working on non-union projects are not governed by the union rules and are not technically required to strike. However, they may still face ostracism from the community if they are seen as breaking the strike.

What advice does the video script offer to consumers or supporters of the actors' cause?

The script advises consumers to educate themselves about the issues, show solidarity by supporting advocacy groups, and to be patient and kind towards actors and companies involved. It discourages attacking companies on social media or joining internet mobs.

Outlines

00:00

📢 Union Strike for AI Voice Protection

The video discusses the ongoing strike by the actor's Union, SAG-AFTRA, against companies that refuse to include AI voice protection in their contracts. The Union is seeking to prevent companies from using actors' voices without compensation to train AI models. The strike is specifically targeting the interactive media agreement, which includes video games. The 2016 strike had multiple issues, but the current one is straightforward, focusing on the ethical and moral implications of voice theft. The Union is not asking for more money but rather for a written contract that ensures their voices are not exploited by AI without consent or compensation.

05:01

🛠 Understanding the Strike's Scope and Impact

This paragraph clarifies the scope of the strike, emphasizing that it only affects the interactive media agreement and not all video games or Union activities. Some games are exempt, including those not under the Union's jurisdiction or those that have signed interim agreements providing AI protections. The strike's impact on actors is also explained, with a focus on not promoting struck projects and the potential career repercussions of breaking the strike. The paragraph also addresses misconceptions about the strike, such as the role of non-Union actors and the inability of the Union to govern streamers or YouTubers. It concludes with advice for consumers and actors to stay informed and supportive, without resorting to online harassment.

10:03

🤝 Solidarity and Support for Voice Actors

The final paragraph of the script calls for solidarity and support for voice actors during the strike. It encourages viewers to educate themselves about the issues at hand and to support advocacy groups like the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA). The speaker advises against online harassment and emphasizes the importance of human empathy and understanding in the industry. The goal is to foster a collaborative environment where both artists and companies can thrive, and the speaker thanks the audience for their attention to the matter.

Keywords

💡Strike

A strike is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to perform work to protest against unfair employment conditions. In the video, the term refers to the actor's union going on strike to protest companies using actors' voices and likenesses for AI without compensation. The script mentions the 2016 strike and the current one, emphasizing the existential issue for actors.

💡Actor's Union

An actor's union is an organization that represents the collective interests of actors, often negotiating contracts and working conditions on their behalf. The script discusses the actor's union, SAG-AFTRA, and their role in the strike, highlighting their demand for fair compensation and protection against the misuse of actors' voices in AI.

💡Compensation

Compensation refers to the payment or reward given in return for work done or services rendered. The video's theme revolves around the actors' demand for compensation when their voices are used to create AI models, which is a central point of contention in the strike.

💡AI (Artificial Intelligence)

AI, or artificial intelligence, is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The script discusses the ethical and practical implications of using actors' voices to train AI systems without their consent or compensation.

💡Contract

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. The video emphasizes the importance of contracts in protecting actors from the misuse of their voices in AI, pointing out that some contracts lack the necessary language to prevent this.

💡Loopholes

A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system or set of rules, which can be exploited to circumvent the intent of the rules. The script mentions loopholes in contracts that could allow companies to use actors' voices in AI indefinitely without compensation.

💡Ethical and Moral Implications

Ethical and moral implications refer to the principles of right and wrong that are the basis for good behavior. The video script uses this term to discuss the righteousness of the actors' demands and the unethical nature of using their voices without permission or compensation.

💡Interim Bargaining Agreement

An interim bargaining agreement is a temporary contract that is agreed upon while negotiations for a final contract are ongoing. The script explains that companies can sign such agreements to provide AI protections and immediately resume working with union actors during the strike.

💡SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA is the name of the American actors' union, a merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The script uses this term to refer to the union that is leading the strike and advocating for AI protections in contracts.

💡Indie Games

Indie games refer to independently developed video games, often created outside of the traditional video game industry. The script clarifies that the strike does not affect games operating under a sub-agreement for low-budget or indie games, which are not under the strike.

💡Solidarity

Solidarity is the unity or agreement of feeling or action, often in pursuit of a common objective. The video encourages consumers and others to show solidarity with the actors by understanding their cause and supporting them, rather than attacking companies or joining online mobs.

Highlights

The actor's Union is on strike again, demanding compensation for the use of actors' voices and likenesses in AI without their consent.

The 2016 strike was more complicated, but the current strike is clear: actors want protection against their voices being used without compensation.

Actors are not asking for more money, just a contractual agreement to prevent their voices from being stolen and used for AI models.

Some contracts have outdated language that could be interpreted to allow AI usage without compensation.

The ethical and moral implications of using actors' voices without consent are clear, and the actors are seeking legal protection.

The strike is specifically targeting the interactive media agreement, not all contracts under the Union's umbrella.

Not every video game company is under a collective bargaining agreement with the Union, and some games are not affected by the strike.

Actors are not prohibited from working in other genres or on non-union projects.

Companies can resume working with Union actors by signing an interim agreement that includes AI protections.

Small budget or indie games under a different agreement are not affected by the strike.

Actors are not allowed to promote struck projects, but they can promote non-union games or games outside the Union's jurisdiction.

The strike is aimed at companies that refuse to include AI protections in their contracts, not at all video game companies.

Consumers might see delays in video game releases from struck companies, but the delay is to protect the acting industry from bad contracts.

Being an educated ally involves visiting the Union website and understanding the challenges actors face.

Donating to advocacy groups like the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) can support the cause.

The video emphasizes the importance of being human, patient, and kind in the face of the strike and industry challenges.

Transcripts

so you want to steal our voices and use

it to teach AI without paying

us okay let's talk sag aftera the

actor's Union is once again on strike in

this video we're going to break down why

the union is striking what it means for

you as a voice actor or what it means

for you as just a general consumer of

media many people still remember the

2016 strike which was way more

complicated than this one the 2016 video

game strike had numerous issues that

made it difficult to follow in contrast

the current strike is much clearer and

straightforward it essentially boils

down to this okay would you guys mind

not using our faces voices or likenesses

to make money without compensating us of

course not the ethical and moral

implications of such a thing would be

bafflingly antagonistic okay great so if

you could just sign this contract no so

you do want to steal the method by which

we make our livelihood and teach

artificial intelligence to use them so

you replicate them without our

permission or compensation well that

would be ridiculous nobody wants that I

certainly would be upset if a robot

tried to take my job amazing then we're

in agreement if you could just put that

in the contract absolutely not but

you're promising that you won't do it

yes of course so you could just put it

in the no but we need it in writing if

we're going to not going to happen you

realize that a promise in written form

is just called a contract snowball's

chance in hell well I guess that means

we're going to have to go on strike now

why on Earth would you be so

unreasonable the issue for the actor

Union in 2024 is existential actors do

not want companies to have the legal

ability to take their voices their

livelihood and make models of them

without paying us some contracts

entirely lack language protecting actors

from this While others have outdated

language that could now be interpreted

to include AI usage for example one

company's contracts allow them to

simulate and that's in the contract that

word an actor's voice to make editing

easier that made sense in the 1980s when

they need to sort of mess things around

digitally but today this could be

interpreted to mean that that company

could use an actor's voice indefinitely

in simulation without compensation these

are the kind of loopholes I discussed in

my other videos about the importance of

reading contracts and protecting

ourselves against AI to me this

situation is overall baffling it doesn't

make any sense to me why companies would

refuse to include protective language in

their contracts actors are not asking

for more money or really significant

changes to working conditions they're

simply asking you not to have our voices

stolen and used without compensation or

to train AI models that will effectively

do the same thing the ethical and moral

grounds are really clearcut here unlike

the previous strike which had arguments

on both sides about actors wanting more

money or different sort of working

conditions like I said it was much more

complicated this is very cut and dry and

I hope I'm saying that this strike won't

last long but I often feel like I'm

punished for being an optimist so I'll

refrain from further predictions so

that's why we're striking it's basic

easy to solve there are already contract

Riders like those from Nava a great

organization you should familiarize

yourself with that addresses AI

protections many companies have signed

these agreements without issues games

are still getting made nobody's losing

money a complicated legal and

bureaucratic structure that's like well

we have to run this through legal

shouldn't really excuse larger

corporations from doing the same this

simple request harms nobody and helps

everybody usually I can see both sides

of an argument most of my friends and

colleagues will know that I'll always

play Devil's Advocate but this one

confuses even me it's really frustrating

that it had to come to a strike but here

we are and that's why now let's talk

about what a strike means as there are

many misconceptions about it last year

when the same Union went on strike for

the film and TV contract I had people

accusing me of being a strike breaker

which didn't make sense on my voice

acting ads there's so much

misunderstanding and misinformation out

there so it's important to focus on the

specific details of a strike by the time

I finish explaining you'll see how

narrow the strike actually is first the

union sag after I'll use both

interchangeably strikes per contract

this means there are several collective

bargaining agreements contracts under

the Union's umbrella including film and

TV commercial interactive which includes

video games animation dubbing and others

each has its own rate structure has its

own working conditions and Provisions as

well as specific companies signed on to

that contract on the production side

when the union says it's on strike it

generally refers to one particular

contract not the whole Union actors are

not prohibited from working in

commercials or other genres associated

with completely different collective

bargaining agreements currently the only

contract on strike is the interactive

media agreement which we'll call the

video game contract on top of that not

every video game is struck many video

game companies have never engaged with

the union and are not under a collective

bargaining agreement sometimes you'll

hear is this a union game is this a

non-union game is this Union project is

in a non-union project for non-union

projects that have never been Union the

union can't strike their games therefore

there are games that you're going to see

come out that are outside the Union's

jurisdiction similarly if an actor isn't

in the union they're not governed by

Union rules they're not technically

needing to strike anything however

strike Breakers or scabs are generally

ostracized by the community even though

the union can't technically punish them

if you're caught breaking the picket

line being a scab breaking a strike by

working on struck projects as a

non-union member not great for your

career or your reputation additionally

not all games under the union are struck

some games are grandfathered in because

they were in production before the

strike even if they're built under a

struck company if a game or a company

signs an interim bargaining agreement

providing AI protections the union will

work with them even during a strike this

means that any company at any time can

sign an interim agreement and immediate

mediately access the same Union actors

as they did before the strike it

magically becomes unstruck as soon as

they sign that agreement so it's not

like there needs to be this giant

agreement that happens any company can

say look we're cool with the non- aai

thing we'll just sign that let's move

forward and it's fine another important

caveat to the strike if the game is

operating under a sort of sub agreement

we call the lowbudget tiered interactive

media agreement which you can just say

is cheaper Indie Games it's absolutely

not under the strike at all so all the

amazing small budget games which if you

didn't know can still work with and

afford Union actors by the way are

totally safe to summarize the actors's

union is punishing companies that refuse

to include AI protections by ordering

Union actors not to work for specific

companies and games any company can

resume working with Union actors by

signing an interim agreement with AI

protections and a log go away when the

strike ends and we have a new collective

bargaining agreement that includes those

AI protections it's simple right much

simpler than the internet makes it out

to be there are additional rules about

What actors can and cannot do with

struck games for example a union actor

cannot promote a struck project through

conventions interviews appearances Etc

this extends Beyond acting to make the

game successful you're helping the

company make the game successful they're

asking actors not to do that however

that doesn't mean that actors can't

promote non-union games or games outside

the Union's jurisdiction the things I

was talking about before games that

aren't struck companies that aren't

struck so when you see someone talking

about a game they're working on it

doesn't necessarily mean they're a

strike breaker publicly breaking a

strike is career suicide most people

would not flaunt that on social media

furthermore if you're a streamer a

YouTuber right the union a probably

can't govern you unless you're a union

member and B they're not saying that you

can't play games as a matter of fact

they want you to play games and keep

enjoying it you should look at sag

after's website on the links in the

description below for more really

detailed information about that in

addition at that website you can

actually check to see if a project is

struck or not struck there's a handy

dandy little form there you can fill out

and say hey this project number is it

struck or is it not struck or you can

just call the union and ask them so

actors you also should be aware that

companies may try to find actors who

don't understand they're breaking the

strike or obfuscate their details so you

can't tell it's a struck project don't

be that actor okay companies might use

things like online casting websites

hiding the game information until you're

too invested to back out this happened

during the last strike so when in doubt

go find out you can always back out you

don't have to work a struck project if

you find out suddenly that it's struck

overall though calm down most voice

acting work is not affected by this

strike if you're not working under the

union interactive contract you don't

need to worry however the safest and

most enforcable way to ensure AI

protections is under a Union contract if

you even if you're not Union or the game

you're working on even if it is also not

Union want to solidify its status in the

union for free use the link in the

description below to get in touch with

Nava who will do this entire process for

you and nobody will lose a job anywhere

as a consumer you might see delays in

larger video game releases from struck

companies that sucks yes but waiting a

few extra months is totally worth it to

prevent the acting industry from

collapsing due to bad contracts how can

you help as a consumer or just as a

regular old person show solidarity for

actors this doesn't mean attacking

companies on Twitter or joining internet

mobs please don't do that just because

you see something online doesn't mean

it's true good friends of mine have been

chased off social media with death

threats for trivial trivial reasons if

you're one of my voice acting students

remember my Mantra stay above the noise

most online discussions are full of

people who don't know what they're

talking about it's a lot of noise

remember the phrase going viral is based

on a disease be part of the Cure not the

sickness get educated visit the Union

website and other links in the

description that I'm going to provide

below to learn about the challenges that

actors face an educated Ally is a useful

Ally if inclined donate to advocacy

groups my favorite is the National

Association of voice actors or Nava I've

talked about them a ton they do

incredible work for voice actors they

offer free resources for both actors and

consumers to clarify industry issues

including webinars most importantly this

is what I want you to do above all be

human actors are humans so are the

people at production and gaming

companies don't judge someone for having

a company's logo in their bio be patient

be kind be assertive but be human I hope

this video clears up some of the

confusion about the strike and inspires

you to pursue what lights your fire

whether that's voice acting or game

development the world needs great

artists on both sides and the more we

work together the better our art will be

thanks for taking the time to listen

[Music]