Video game voice actors go on strike over AI protections [Video]

Video game voice and motion capture performers have gone on strike for the second time in a decade.

After a year and a half of negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and major video game companies like Activision, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two Interactive, the portion of the union’s membership that works on video games has initiated a work stoppage that went into effect on Friday morning. In a statement on its website, SAG-AFTRA said, with no uncertainty, that artificial intelligence protections are the “sticking point.”

“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members,” union president Fran Drescher said in the statement. “Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate.”

In a statement to Polygon, a spokesperson for the gaming companies’ side Audrey Cooling claimed the AI …