MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Performers in a SAG-AFTRA union began a strike against video game companies. As NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports, the union had been negotiating for a new contract for the past 18 months.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: As of midnight, union voiceover actors, stunt performers and those whose motions are captured digitally stopped working for the major video game companies. After nearly two years, contract talks had stalled over concerns about how artificial intelligence is or could be used to replace or replicate those performances. The companies say they offered AI protections, but union members say they don't extend to everyone.
ANDI NORRIS: What they are saying is that some of these performances, specifically for movement, is just data.
DEL BARCO: Andi Norris is a member of SAG-AFTRA's negotiating committee. You can see her work on such video games as "Predator: Hunting Grounds" and "Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series."
(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO GAME)
DEL BARCO: To play aliens, zombies and other creatures, Norris moves wearing body suits with sensors that cameras capture digitally to animate.
NORRIS: I can crawl all over the floor and the walls as, you know, such and such creature, and they will argue that that is not performance, and so that is not subject to their AI protections.
DEL BARCO: Norris says she fears that without those protections, video game companies could create digital replicas without her consent. Norris and the union want guarantees for consent and also fair compensation for their very human work. A spokesperson for the video game companies said in a statement they're disappointed in the union's decision, and they remain prepared to resume negotiations, but actor Zeke Alton - who's also on the negotiating committee - says the companies' offer has many loopholes, and he says performers are the canary in the coalmine of the new technology.
ZEKE ALTON: We are setting a precedent for how the workforce in both the United States and around the world is going to be treated. Are they going to use this new emergent technology as tools for creatives, and for workers, to create efficiency, or is this tool going to be used by executives to remove the worker?
DEL BARCO: Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MARTIN: I want to let you know that NPR workers are also members of SAG-AFTRA, but under a different contract. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
