Video game artists could be on strike for “a full year” over artificial intelligence (AI), the union representing striking workers in the United States told Sky News.
More than 2,500 artists work for blockbuster videogame Studios such as Activision, EA, Warner Bros. Games and Blindlight have been on strike in the United States since July 26.
Their union, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), wants studios to agree to new protections for artists around the world. Generative AI use in industry.
Now, the union’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, has told Sky News that the actors could be on strike for a year.
“There may be a theory that [the studios] “We can’t wait,” Mr. Crabtree-Ireland said, because video games can be more flexible than movies in their production and could therefore avoid delays.
“That’s a wrong theory.”
Last year, SAG-AFTRA actors went on strike for 118 days alongside Hollywood writers, calling for similar AI protections from movie and streaming studios, among other demands.
The strike cost the industry $5bn (£3.9bn), according to the University of Michigan, and caused delays to major blockbusters such as Deadpool 3, Challengers and Dune: Part Two, but that It was not SAG-AFTRA’s longest industrial action.
The last time the union went on strike over video game contracts was in 2017. It became the longest strike in SAG-AFTRA history, lasting 340 days.
“We were on strike for a full year. That could happen [this time],” said Mr. Crabtree-Ireland.
“I really hope not,” he added.
Actress Natasha Blasick at the picket line at Warner Bros. Games headquarters. Photo: AP
Read more: Video game artists are on strike: what you need to know
Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for video game producers negotiating with the union, told Sky News that they are “committed to resolving the last outstanding issue” so they can “end this strike and achieve historic pay increases.” [and] industry-leading AI protections” for video game players.
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The sticking point in the discussions is the use of artist-based AI in front of the camera.
They are people like action and movement specialists who execute the actions of a character, which are then animated.
Ms Cooling said this type of performance “was excluded from the scope of coverage in both the animation and TV/Film agreements signed by the union” and the current offer is “fully consistent with or better than other industry agreements of entertainment that the union has signed. .
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SAG-AFTRA disagreed, calling the studios “isolated in their position” and saying other industries have “recognized the need” to protect these types of artists.
“The public cares about this,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “[The game studio’s] The customer base cares about AI.
“I’m a gamer too, I love games, I don’t want games created in the virtual equivalent of a sweatshop.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
