Mass Effect star criticizes AI voiceover in games: "It cannot send through the oxygen that brings those 'casings' to life"
Jan. 12, 2024Following on from SAG-AFTRA’s hugely controversial AI deal earlier this week
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Prominent voice actor Jennifer Hale has criticized the growing use of AI-manipulated voiceover.
Hale has worked in the voiceover industry for decades now, lending her talents to countless projects including Bayonetta 3, Overwatch, and the Mass Effect Trilogy where her Commander Femshep performance became beloved across the known universe.
The actor has now taken to social media to fire back against AI voiceover. “Technology can reproduce someone’s appearance, it can reproduce the sound of their voice,” shewrites. “It cannot send through the oxygen that brings those ‘casings’ to life, the clarion call of their soul, the unique signature that is the essence of every single one of us. All else is hollow.”
Hale’s somewhat poetic comments follow on from this week’s controversy, which saw US union SAG-AFTRA sign a joint deal with Replica Studios that “paves the way for professional voiceover artists to safely explore new employment opportunities for their digital voice replicas,” according to the union’s announcement.
Several high-profile voice actors from Starfield, Diablo 4, and Baldur’s Gate 3logged on to slam the “disappointing” dealas many union members were supposedly not consulted beforehand, despite the union claiming that it approached “affected members.”
SAG-AFTRA previously went onstrikefor 118 days last year to protest Hollywood studio’s streaming contracts and planned AI use - making their video game deal even more surprising. Hale has seemingly added her voice to the growing discontent.
AI manipulation has been a hot topic for many months now. Several actors similarly slammedMicrosoft’s recent partnership with InWorld AIwhich aimed to generate dialogue, quests, and “story” - threatening many roles within the industry in a mission to seemingly cut costs, rather than lighten the workload for developers.
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AI development isn’t just unpopular with voice actors, however, since famed directorHideo Kojimaclaimed that"humans should be above AI.“The developers behind Whisker Squadron, the gorgeous space combat roguelike, alsorefused to ever use AI for voiceover work. And indie developer Xalavier Nelson Jr. recently mentioned that his oddball comedy, An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs,couldn’t have been developed todaydue to dangers surrounding generative AI.
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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