SAG-AFTRA Ratifies Contracts That Limit Use of AI Voices in Animated TV Shows
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA announced Friday that members have ratified new three-year contracts for voice actors who work on animated TV shows.
The deals addressed the same concerns that fueled last year’s 118-day actors’ strike, notably artificial intelligence, which many actors fear will replace their jobs.
As with the live-action agreement, the animation deals do not forbid the use of AI. But they do prevent actors’ voices from being recreated without their permission.
Though the animation terms are largely patterned on the deal that ended the strike, there are a couple of differences. SAG-AFTRA negotiated for language declaring that animation voice actors must be human beings — a definition that was not included in the TV/Theatrical deal. “We’ve got it in writing,” the union stated on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier this month. “‘Voice actors’ includes ONLY humans in the new TV Animation Agreements!” The lack of that definition in the TV/Theatrical agreement was a source of controversy during the ratification process.
Read more on variety.com