SAG-AFTRA, the union representing voice, motion, and screen performers, has filed an unfair labor complaint against Epic Games. The SAG-AFTRA complaint comes after Epic Games launched an artificial intelligence system programmed to sound like James Earl Jones’s Darth Vader and to reply to players’ actions and questions in the game.
According to The Verge, SAG-AFTRA said it respects that its members and their estates may choose to use AI technology as they wish. “However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games.” It notes that Epic Games did not inform the union before rolling out the AI feature.
SAG-AFTRA wants a dialogue before AI use
While AI tools have been replacing human labor, the union has actively embraced the technology under certain conditions. SAG-AFTRA has signed contracts and partnerships with several AI firms aimed at giving members access to these tools with contract guarantees that protect their rights.
The union strongly stressed that its issue is not with using AI to recreate Vader’s voice—whether that of the late James Earl Jones or of those hired later to match his style but with Epic Games’s decision to deploy the AI without consulting SAG-AFTRA at the bargaining table.