Voice acting legend Jennifer Hale, who's appeared in the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect, and more, has commented on the ongoing video game strikes and the threat of artificial intelligence.
Hale told Variety that "AI is coming for us all" and is a key factor behind the current Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, though something that makes things particularly difficult.
"The truth is, AI is just a tool like a hammer," she said. "If I take my hammer, I could build you a house. I can also take that same hammer and I can smash your skin and destroy who you are.”
Hale continued: "If you use something that originated in our body or our voices, can we please get paid?” Because now you’re using technology to take away our ability to feed our kids.
"What I wish everyone would do was keep asking the actual question, which is: 'There’s a lot of money being made here. Where is it going?’ And in the current setup, the way our system operates, and this whole idea of shareholder supremacy, it’s flowing to the 1%. If you flow so much money, you can’t even feed the people who made it possible."
Hale revealed in October 2023 she was paid just $1,200 for her role as Naomi Hunter in the original Metal Gear Solid, a game which eventually grossed $176 million for publisher Konami (and is still making the company money through myriad re-releases).
The disparity between Hale's alleged payment and the success of Metal Gear Solid is "indicative of what's happening in modern culture", she said, adding she hopes the standard for these payments changes.
Many voice actors have expressed how AI adds to this disparity, as companies can now generate voices and other work without having to pay anyone but the companies behind the AI itself, despite them pulling from real people like Hale.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lead Doug Cockle similarly expressed caution and frustration at the growing presence of artificial intelligence within the video game industry, calling it "inevitable" but "dangerous".
Cissy Jones, a voice actor known for her roles in Disney's Owl House, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Shin Megami Tensei 5, and more, has started a company called Morpheme.ai to let voice actors embrace AI and gain control of their own voices going forward. Though the odds still appear stacked against them.
Voice actors have previously called out AI-generated explicit Skyrim mods, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate voice actress Victoria Atkin called AI-generated mods the “invisible enemy we're fighting right now” after discovering her voice was used by cloning software. Paul Eiding, the voice actor behind Colonel Campbell in the Metal Gear Solid series, also condemned its use.