Earlier this week, an internal video from Sony was leaked online showing that the company was experimenting with the creation of AI versions of their characters. In the video, the company had created an AI version of Aloy the protagonist of the Horizon franchise from Guerilla Games. Now, Aloy’s voice actor, Ashly Burch has taken to Instagram express her dismay with the use of AI amidst the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike against the video game industry.
In the video, Burch shares that, after seeing the “AI Aloy” demo, Guerilla Games had reached out to her to inform her that the tech demo had not used her voice or facial capture data that the studio had, that “the demo didn’t reflect anything that was actively in development,” and that they own the rights to the Aloy character. As a member of SAG-AFTRA, which has been on strike against the video game industry in regards to the use of AI for actors since last July, Burch would go on to outline the three protections that they are asking for in regards to AI use which include getting the actor’s permission, provide fair compensation for the use, and telling the actors how the developers plan to use the AI double.
Burch would then go on to lament, not on the effects of AI on her own career, but how the continuing use of AI by the video game industry will impact the game performance medium itself especially if the strike does not end with favorable results for the actors involved stating, “I just imagine a video like this coming out that does have someone’s performance attached to it, that does have someone’s voice or face or movement, and the possibility that we lose this fight that person would have to recourse. They wouldn’t have any protections; any way to fight back.” Burch ends the video expressing her desire to see a new generation of actors entering the space, more “incredible performances” from other actors, as well as being able to do so herself.