AI is coming for us
Jennifer Hale is a clumsy alien, a screaming six-year-old and a superhero who saves the world. The voice actor, whose work in animation and video games includes “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “Baldur’s Gate,” “X-Men ’97” and countless more, is a of the most recognizable voices in video games.
Currently, the gaming industry is at a standstill after SAG-AFTRA called a strike against major video game publishers on July 25. The strike was called after more than a year of negotiations and echoes last year’s strikes by actors and writers. Like dual strikes, AI is a major sticking point in union negotiations.
“AI is coming for all of us,” says Hale. “Because the truth is that AI is just a tool, like a hammer. If I pick up my hammer, I can build you a house. I can also take that same hammer and I can smash your skin and destroy who you are.
Hale emphasizes that the existential nature of the conflict makes this strike particularly difficult. She says SAG-AFTRA’s latest counteroffer to video game companies is included in the current interim agreement signed by nearly 70 developers.
The actor explains how the National Association of Voice Actors came to Congress with bills like the “NO FAKES Act,” which would protect people’s voices and visual likenesses from generative AI. She urges fans to call their representatives to vote for these types of bills.
“If you use something that comes from our bodies or our voices, can we please get paid?” says Hale. “Because now you’re using technology to take away our ability to feed our children.”
One of the first video game franchises Hale ever worked on was ‘Metal Gear’, in which she portrayed female protagonist Naomi Hunter. Hale explains that she was paid a salary for two sessions totaling $1,200, while the game itself would earn approximately $176 million.
“What I wish everyone would do was keep asking the real 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 works, and this whole idea of shareholder supremacy, it flows to the 1%. If you let that much money flow, you can’t even feed the people who made it possible.”
