SAG-AFTRA, the big actors and media union with over 160,000 members, went and filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against Epic Games because of that whole AI-powered Darth Vader situation in Fortnite. You know, the one where players could talk to Darth Vader and ask him stuff, and then they got him saying all sorts of not-so-nice things. Epic fixed it up, but now they’re in trouble with the union for not talking to them first.
So, on May 19, SAG-AFTRA decided to go ahead and announce that they’re not too happy with Epic Games and their subsidiary, Llama Productions, for not giving them a heads up about the AI-powered Vader. The union is all about protecting the rights of their members and their estates when it comes to using their digital likenesses. They’re cool with new tech and all that, but they want to make sure they get a say in how it’s used, especially when it comes to replacing human performers with AI.
SAG-AFTRA is currently on strike against big video game companies like EA and Activision, and one of the reasons is to get more protection against AI replicas like the one in Fortnite. It all started back in 2024, and now they’re fighting to make sure voice actors get a fair deal when it comes to these kinds of situations. Not really sure why this matters, but hey, unions gotta do what unions gotta do, right?