One of the bigger events of 2023 was the SAG-AFTRA strikes, which spanned for almost four months from July 14 to November 9 and was focused on fighting for better pay, working conditions, and even provisions on the use of artificial intelligence [AI]. That last point is something that sees some crossover into the video game industry. Video game executives, in their impressively short-sighted wisdom, have been fixated on the idea of using AI to cut game development costs. Most recently, EA’s Andrew Wilson mentioned a future where “3 billion people around the world” will be able to use AI tools to create content for EA’s games. Yes, 3 billion people, so approximately 37% of the world’s population.
It seems that SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland detailed the potential for an actor strike in thefuture for the video game industry. According to Crabtree-Ireland, the root cause of these strikes would be the last year of negotiations that have gone nowhere. It is also worth noting that, in September of 2023, 98% of SAG-AFTRA members voted to take industrial action against the video game industry’s notable publisher. These include, but are not limited to, Electronic Arts (EA), Epic Games, and Take-Two Interactive.
SAG-AFTRA’s position on the use of AI in game development is not to flat out prevent its use, but rather protect actors through “consent and compensation”. Last year’s negotations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) ended with AI provisions which will prove helpful in setting a baseline for the settlement between the union and the video game industry leads. Given the nature of AI’s potential use in video games, and the ever evolving landscape of video games (especially with the advent of live-service games), not everything in the AMPTP agreement can translate across, but the existence of those prior agreements should help in this scenario.
According to Crabtree, SAG-AFTRA doesn’t want to go on strike, but the potential for AI to be used in an exploitative manner against its members is too high, and so a deal has to be made in order to protect those people.
