An actors’ union is suing the makers of the Fortnite video game over the use of AI to create an interactive Darth Vader, it said Monday.
Fortnite announced last week it had got permission from the family of James Earl Jones to make a chatty ‘Star Wars’ villain based on the late actor’s voice work in the smash hit space opera series.
Using AI models, developer Epic Games introduced the Emperor’s consigliere into Battle Royale, a player-versus-player version of Fortnite in which squads form to defeat other contestants online.
Users were quick to adopt the Sith Lord on their missions, posting clips of their interactions with one of cinema’s most famous bad guys.
Many delighted in the character’s apparent wit, laughing as he tells them off for poor technique, or suggesting that they are cheating. “The empire has no need for fast food,” he chides one player who asks what his McDonald’s order would be. “If I were forced to endure such a culinary experience, I would take a Chicken Selects Meal with large fries and a Coca-Cola drink.”
But actors’ union SAG-AFTRA was not amused, claiming the use of AI in video games puts performers out of work.
“We celebrate the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies,” a statement said Monday.
“However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games.”
The union, which says it represents around 160,000 people, says Epic’s subsidiary did not talk to its negotiators over how AI would be used in the game.