Voice acting union SAG-AFTRA has filed an unfair labour practice charge against Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, and Llama Productions, the game's signatory company, for using an AI-generated voice of James Earl Jones to portray Darth Vader in-game.
In a statement posted on its website (via gamesindustry.biz), SAG-AFTRA says it "celebrate[s] the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies", however, its issue lies with Epic Games and Llama Productions' choice to "replace the work of human performers with A.I. technology."
"Unfortunately, [Llama Productions] did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms" SAG-AFTRA's statement continues, concluding that "As such, we have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB against Llama Productions."
In the filing to the National Labor Relations Board, the basis of the charge (point 2) says the following:
"Within the past six months, the Employer, by its agents and representatives, failed and refused to bargain in good faith with the union by making unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment, without providing notice to the union or the opportunity to bargain, by utilizing AI-generated voices to replace bargaining unit work on the Interactive Program Fortnite."
This has emerged in the wake of Friday's fiasco where, as part of Fortnite's Star Wars celebration, the game implemented a new Darth Vader NPC that players could interact with. The difference is that this NPC used an AI-generative voice of the iconic character's original voice, James Earl Jones, with permission from the late actor's family.
Of course, there are all sorts of ethical implications of using AI-generative voice over, especially when — as SAG-AFTRA says — there are many voice artists who have stepped into the shoes of the Sith Lord over the years. So what did fans do? Make the character drop some F-bombs, of course.
SAG-AFTRA represents around 160,000 voice artists, DJs, broadcasters, dancers, writers, editors, hosts, and more across North America. The union is currently on strike, and has been since 26th July 2024, after failing to reach a protection agreement for all performers covered by the Interactive Media Agreement against AI.