Voice Actors Say Major Video Game Companies’ “Woefully Insufficient” AI Proposals Led To Strike, Weigh In On Necessary Provisions For Deal

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Just a few hours into their strike against the major video game companies, SAG-AFTRA made some noise at San Diego Comic-Con by speaking about the “existential threat” of artificial intelligence, which they say has been holding up a new deal for nearly two years.

At a convention panel Friday morning, Ashly Burch, Noshir Dalal, Sarah Elmaleh and Shannon Woodward received a resounding round of applause from fans as they discussed the work stoppage (and sported SAG-AFTRA strike shirts). “A.I.

is a huge concern — and especially a huge concern for our professions, for voice actors and movement performers,” said Burch, who is known for her roles in Mythic Quest and Horizon Forbidden West. “So we have to take a stand, because the protections that our employers put across the table are woefully insufficient and are going to put a lot, a lot, a lot of people out of work.” Burch added that she hoped the panel, which was already on the Comic-Con schedule to discuss their expansive work on some incredibly popular video games like The Last of Us Part II, “showcases how irreplaceable we are.” Elmaleh, who is the chair of the Interactive Media Agreement negotiating committee, also explained that the convention is exempt from the voice actors’ strike rules, meaning they are free to promote their projects this weekend.

This is a departure from last year’s strike against the union’s film and TV contracts, which prevented actors from discussing any of their work under that agreement. “We’re really excited for this action to be about being visible and being loud about the stuff that we work on, the fact that we love working on it, and, of course, the things that we need to protect it forever,” she said.