Have we stopped valuing human skills? Video game actors have voted in favour of another strike. With creative industries in crisis over AI, some think we need to reconnect with what makes us human.
One Hollywood strike ends. Another may begin
Have we stopped valuing human skills? Video game actors have voted in favour of another strike. With creative industries in crisis over AI, some think we need to reconnect with what makes us human.
Imagine you turn on your gaming device and eagerly prepare to play the latest hot video game... before you realise that the main character has your voice and your face.
You would be within your rights to be worried. Where did they get your voice from? Why do they have the right to use it? Can you do anything about it? Can they make you say anything they want?
Many think that this is the future. AI is being trained to cloneTo create an exact genetic copy of an organism or cell. people's voices and faces so that actors can be the lead in a huge film, TV series or game without even leaving their beds.
Not everybody is happy. Many believe that AI presents an existentialRelating to the state of human existence. Existential dread can refer to grappling with your own experiences of responsibility and death. threat to actors. Using voice actors means paying for months of labourBritain's main left-of-centre political party., but with AI, studios can pay a small one-off sum to buy an actor's voice and image and make them say or do anything they want.
Writers and actors in film and television have already been on strike for more protection against AI. And now video games have joined the arena, with video game actors threatening to strike too if they do not get their demands soon. Alongside more protection against generative AI, video game actors also want an 11% pay increase and on-set medics for risky stunts.
Many believe that the complete destruction of acting as a profession would be a travestyA fake and offensive representation of something. Travesty descends from the French verb travestir, meaning to disguise.. Some say it also puts the creative process at risk. Acting is about so much more than just reading words from a script: it is about working together with actors, directors, designers, writers and more. AI cannot do this.
Many condemnCriticise. the studios for sacrificing artistry for lower costs. But others say the creative industries are fair game - if we can make them more efficientWorking quickly in an organised way. using technology, we should. Using AI will make video games cheaper and faster to make so that we can enjoy more of them at a lower cost.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Have we stopped valuing human skills?</strong></h5>
Yes: Video games, films and TV series are supposed to be about collaboration between a creative team to create something brilliant. You cannot achieve that level of creativity whilst using AI, and the quality of the product will undoubtedly suffer.
No: We live in a world where the demand for TV and video games is rising exponentially. In order to keep up with this demand, studios have to make the development of games and TV more efficient.
Or... The larger problem is not losing our creative skills, but allowing the development of AI to steal people's identities and livelihoods. No actor should have to face having their voice stolen and used to say things they did not consent to.
Clone - To create an exact genetic copy of an organism or cell.
Existential - Relating to the state of human existence. Existential dread can refer to grappling with your own experiences of responsibility and death.
Labour - Britain's main left-of-centre political party.
Travesty - A fake and offensive representation of something. Travesty descends from the French verb travestir, meaning to disguise.
Condemn - Criticise.
Efficient - Working quickly in an organised way.
One Hollywood strike ends. Another may begin

Glossary
Clone - To create an exact genetic copy of an organism or cell.
Existential - Relating to the state of human existence. Existential dread can refer to grappling with your own experiences of responsibility and death.
Labour - Britain's main left-of-centre political party.
Travesty - A fake and offensive representation of something. Travesty descends from the French verb travestir, meaning to disguise.
Condemn - Criticise.
Efficient - Working quickly in an organised way.