Latest news with #SarahElmaleh
The Hindu
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Industry video game actors pass agreement with studios for AI security
Hollywood video game voice and motion capture actors signed a new contract with video game studios on Wednesday with a focus on artificial intelligence protections, the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, said in a press release, ending a near year-long strike. "AI was the centerpiece of our proposal package," video game voice actor and member of the negotiation committee Sarah Elmaleh told Reuters after the new agreement passed. Elmaleh, a voice actor for popular titles like "Final Fantasy XV" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops III," said she knew it was crucial to ensure there was a baseline for how to ethically use AI in the gaming industry. The new protections include consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replica use and the ability for performers to suspend consent for the generation of new material during a strike. "This deal achieves important progress around AI protections, and progress is the name of the game," SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in the guild's statement. The deal applies to video game studios Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions and WB Games. "On behalf of the video game producers that are party to the agreement, we are pleased that SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a new Interactive Media Agreement, which delivers historic wage increases, industry-leading A.I. protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers," Audrey Cooling, spokesperson for the video game studios, said in the press release. The new Interactive Media Agreement, which goes into effect immediately, was approved by SAG-AFTRA members by a vote of 95.04% to 4.96%, ratifying the deal and ending the video game strike, which had been suspended pending ratification. The new contract also offers more performer safety measures, which was a specific concern for motion capture video game performers. "There are folks who not only give their voices to these characters, but their bodies, and they put their bodies on the line for these characters," Elmaleh said. Motion capture actors will have medics available during high-risk jobs. The deal also provides compounded increases in performer pay at a rate of 15.17% upon ratification plus additional 3% increases in November 2025, November 2026 and November 2027. The work stoppage of video game voice actors and motion-capture performers started following failed contract negotiations focused around AI-related protections for workers, bringing about another work stoppage in Hollywood following the dual writers' and actors' strikes in 2023. The strike brought a larger call to action across Hollywood as people in the industry advocate for a law that can protect them from AI risks. The NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan bill in Congress which would make it illegal to make an AI replica of someone's likeness and voice without their permission, has gained support from the SAG-AFTRA performers union, the Motion Picture Association, The Recording Academy and Disney.
Globe and Mail
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Video-game actors ratify new contract including AI protections, ending strike
Hollywood video-game voice and motion capture actors signed a new contract with video game studios on Wednesday with a focus on artificial intelligence protections, the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, said in a press release, ending a nearly year-long strike. 'AI was the centrepiece of our proposal package,' video-game voice actor and member of the negotiation committee Sarah Elmaleh told Reuters after the new agreement passed. Elmaleh, a voice actor for popular titles like Final Fantasy XV and Call of Duty: Black Ops III, said she knew it was crucial to ensure there was a baseline for how to ethically use AI in the gaming industry. The new protections include consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replica use and the ability for performers to suspend consent for the generation of new material during a strike. 'This deal achieves important progress around AI protections, and progress is the name of the game,' SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in the guild's statement. Opinion: OpenAI, Scarlett Johansson and artificial-intelligence bootlegging The deal applies to video game studios Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions and WB Games. 'On behalf of the video game producers that are party to the agreement, we are pleased that SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a new Interactive Media Agreement, which delivers historic wage increases, industry-leading A.I. protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers,' Audrey Cooling, spokesperson for the video game studios, said in the press release. The new Interactive Media Agreement, which goes into effect immediately, was approved by SAG-AFTRA members by a vote of 95.04 per cent to 4.96 per cent, ratifying the deal and ending the video-game strike, which had been suspended pending ratification. The new contract also offers more performer safety measures, which was a specific concern for motion capture video game performers. 'There are folks who not only give their voices to these characters, but their bodies, and they put their bodies on the line for these characters,' Elmaleh said. Motion capture actors will have medics available during high-risk jobs. Hollywood actors' union SAG-AFTRA strikes deal for advertisers to replicate actors' voices with AI The deal also provides compounded increases in performer pay at a rate of 15.17 per cent upon ratification plus additional three-per-cent increases in November 2025, November 2026 and November 2027. The work stoppage of video game voice actors and motion-capture performers started following failed contract negotiations focused around AI-related protections for workers, bringing about another work stoppage in Hollywood following the dual writers' and actors' strikes in 2023. The strike brought a larger call to action across Hollywood as people in the industry advocate for a law that can protect them from AI risks. The NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan bill in Congress which would make it illegal to make an AI replica of someone's likeness and voice without their permission, has gained support from the SAG-AFTRA performers union, the Motion Picture Association, The Recording Academy and Disney.
WIRED
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- WIRED
How Video Games Became the New Battleground for Actors and AI Protections
Jul 10, 2025 1:13 PM Voice actors ended their 11-month strike of the video game industry, but their fight against AI is only just beginning. Striking SAG-AFTRA video game performers picket near a Wonder Woman statue outside the WB Games Inc. offices in Burbank, California last August. Photograph:On Wednesday, members of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, voted to ratify a new contract for video game performers, officially bringing an end to a nearly yearlong strike. A majority, 95 percent of members, voted in favor of the contract, which guarantees annual raises for three years, increased compensation, and guardrails designed to prevent game companies from giving their work to AI. Actors in the video game industry had been on strike for 11 months as part of a fight to secure protections against AI, a sticking point that held up negotiations for most of that time. Every other issue in the contract, including compensation and working conditions, was already resolved months ago, says SAG-AFTRA's national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. The strike was temporarily suspended in June, pending contract ratification. According to Sarah Elmaleh, a voice actor who also serves as a SAG-AFTRA committee chair, actors in the games industry have been wearily eyeing AI for years—even before tools like ChatGPT exploded in use. 'We knew that this was the issue of most existential importance,' Elmaleh says. 'This is a medium that is fundamentally digitized.' Performers' work is crucial to game creation. Actors voice characters, help make those characters look more natural by doing motion capture, and even allow companies to use their likenesses. And though AI is impacting industries across the board, including animation, tech, education, and others, the video game industry has begun to feel those effects acutely. As part of the contract, consent and disclosure agreements are now required when any video game maker wants to use a performer's voice or likeness to make an AI-driven digital replica. Should performers go on strike, they are also allowed to suspend their approval for companies to generate any new material with AI. AI is already starting to replace flesh-and-blood actors, even in high-profile cases. In May, Fortnite introduced a generative AI version of Star Wars' Darth Vader. (Players disastrously had him saying swears and slurs in only a few hours. Fortnite maker Epic Games pushed a hotfix soon thereafter.) A few days later, SAG-AFTRA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against Epic subsidiary Llama Productions. In a statement posted to SAG-AFTRA's website, the organization said replacing a human worker with AI was done 'without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms.' Darth Vader actor James Earl Jones gave permission to have his voice digitally recreated with AI before his death in 2024. Crabtree-Ireland would not comment on specific performers or contracts. However, he says that protections need to be applied consistently and with a 'reasonably specific' description of how their image or voice will be used. 'These provisions ensure that a deceased artist's image, voice and performance is treated with the same respect as a living artist's,' Crabtree-Ireland says. The companies that make video games, says Crabtree-Ireland, are on the cutting edge of AI technology. 'It was really important for us to draw this line,' he says, 'because we knew that the boundaries were going to be tested in the video game space earlier and more vigorously than they are in almost any other.' Companies SAG-AFTRA has been bargaining with include Activision, Electronic Arts, Insomniac Games, Take 2 Productions, WB Games, and more. According to Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the bargaining group representing the companies involved, video game producers are pleased SAG-AFTRA members ratified the agreement. 'We look forward to building on our industry's decades-long partnership with the union and continuing to create groundbreaking entertainment experiences for billions of players worldwide,' says Cooling. Game companies owe actors 'basic working conditions and decency,' says Elmaleh, pointing to the value actors add to games. 'Otherwise they wouldn't be here negotiating with us.' Elmaleh calls voice acting and motion capture 'a secret weapon' in a field where everything is digital. 'It imbues persuasiveness and immersion, reality and weight to the rest of the environment,' says Elmaleh, whose credits include blockbuster titles such as Fortnite , The Last of Us Part II , and Halo Infinite . 'It feels a bit foolhardy to kind of throw away that kind of superpower in your tool kit to immediately connect with players.' The fight in video games is a big one that may yet set the tone for other entertainment sectors. 'It's a huge industry that has a lot of impact,' Crabtree-Ireland says. 'It's an industry that has a very devoted fan base that crosses over with consumers and the other industries that our members work in … what we do in one contract impacts other contracts.' Working in lockstep with actors in the game sector will ultimately help future negotiations in other creative fields. Crabtree-Ireland says that he believes that they've yet to see the full boundaries on how AI will be used. 'Whatever is going to be done with AI technology,' he says, 'whether that's replicating human voices, human images, whether it's creating new synthetic performers—it needs to be done in an environment of respect to the performers that are involved.'
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Interactive Media Agreement After 320-Day Video Game Strike
SAG-AFTRA members have voted to ratify the new interactive media agreement negotiated after an 11-month strike against video game developers and recording companies that were signatory to the contract. The union announced on Wednesday that 95.04% of members voted in favor of ratification. More from TheWrap SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Interactive Media Agreement After 320-Day Video Game Strike WGA East Leaves Elon Musk's X in Protest of AI Grok's Antisemitic Posts LL Cool J Pulls Out of Philadelphia July 4 Concert in Solidarity With Striking City Workers California Bill Expanding Film and TV Tax Credit Eligibility Passes 'I commend the strong leadership of Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Chair Sarah Elmaleh, who remained steadfast through three years of hard bargaining while facing many challenging headwinds during a challenging negotiation cycle,' SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement. 'This deal achieves important progress around A.I. protections, and progress is the name of the game! My sincere respect goes out to the entire video game performer community and their allies for their solidarity during the strike which provided the necessary leverage to secure this deal's many essential gains.' Unlike SAG-AFTRA's 2023 TV/Theatrical strike, which had a variety of factors that led to the 118-day stoppage, the 320-day IMA strike was spurred solely by artificial intelligence, as the union's bargaining committee did not feel that the companies provided terms that would ensure that performers would have the transparency needed to give their informed consent, if they wished, for companies to make digital replicas of their performances and likeness. As part of the new deal, companies are required to inform performers about all the ways in which AI is planned to be used on their voice, likeness and movements and have their written consent to use the technology. Performers also have the ability to suspend consent of companies to use AI to create replicas of their work during a strike. 'All of us at SAG-AFTRA would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the video game performers and allies who endured a great deal of sacrifice throughout the 11-month strike,' SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in another statement. 'I'd also like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee and its chair, Sarah Elmaleh, who have worked tirelessly for nearly three years in order to achieve these necessary gains and protections alongside our negotiating staff and lead negotiator Ray Rodriguez. Now that the agreement is ratified, video game performers will be able to enjoy meaningful gains and important A.I. protections, which we will continue to build on as uses of this technology settle and evolve.' Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game producers party to the agreement, added, 'We are pleased that SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a new Interactive Media Agreement, which delivers historic wage increases, industry-leading A.I. protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers. We look forward to building on our industry's decades-long partnership with the union and continuing to create groundbreaking entertainment experiences for billions of players worldwide.' Minimum rates will also be established for the use of digital replicas created with union-covered performances. If those performances are created for the purpose of 'real-time generation' — i.e., creating a digital replica-voiced chatbot in a video game — the performer is entitled to at least 7.5x that minimum scale. Developers are also required to send performers that consent to AI usage a report detailing how their replica was used and which calculates their compensation. Due to clauses in the previous IMA that exempted video games developed and released prior to the start of the strike, the impact of the strike on the video game industry wasn't as widely felt as the 2023 TV/film strikes, where all Hollywood production was shut down. But that doesn't mean there wasn't an impact. Riot Games announced this past December that skins in their popular game 'League of Legends' would not come with new voice lines due to the strike. Famed developer Hideo Kojima also noted that his upcoming horror game 'OD,' which he co-wrote with Jordan Peele and stars 'It' actress Sophia Lillis, would be delayed due to the strike. The post SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Interactive Media Agreement After 320-Day Video Game Strike appeared first on TheWrap.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Industry video game actors pass agreement with studios for AI security
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Hollywood video game voice and motion capture actors signed a new contract with video game studios on Wednesday with a focus on artificial intelligence protections, the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA , said in a press release, ending a near year-long strike."AI was the centerpiece of our proposal package," video game voice actor and member of the negotiation committee Sarah Elmaleh told Reuters after the new agreement a voice actor for popular titles like "Final Fantasy XV" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops III," said she knew it was crucial to ensure there was a baseline for how to ethically use AI in the gaming new protections include consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replica use and the ability for performers to suspend consent for the generation of new material during a strike."This deal achieves important progress around AI protections, and progress is the name of the game," SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in the guild's deal applies to video game studios Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions and WB new Interactive Media Agreement, which goes into effect immediately, was approved by SAG-AFTRA members by a vote of 95.04% to 4.96%, ratifying the deal and ending the video game strike, which had been suspended pending new contract also offers more performer safety measures, which was a specific concern for motion capture video game performers."There are folks who not only give their voices to these characters, but their bodies, and they put their bodies on the line for these characters," Elmaleh capture actors will have medics available during high-risk deal also provides compounded increases in performer pay at a rate of 15.17% upon ratification plus additional 3% increases in November 2025, November 2026 and November work stoppage of video game voice actors and motion-capture performers started following failed contract negotiations focused around AI-related protections for workers, bringing about another work stoppage in Hollywood following the dual writers' and actors' strikes in strike brought a larger call to action across Hollywood as people in the industry advocate for a law that can protect them from AI NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan bill in Congress which would make it illegal to make an AI replica of someone's likeness and voice without their permission, has gained support from the SAG-AFTRA performers union, the Motion Picture Association, The Recording Academy and Disney.
