Popular video game voice actress Jennifer Hale, famous for her work on Metal Gear Solid and Mass Effect, has warned her fellow actors that AI could be their doom.
Speaking with Variety, Hale warned that “AI is coming for us all” amid the ongoing threats of strikes within the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA)
“The truth is, AI is just a tool like a hammer,” she said. “If I take my hammer, I could build you a house. I can also take that same hammer and I can smash your skin and destroy who you are.”
“If you use something that originated in our body or our voices, can we please get paid?” Because now you’re using technology to take away our ability to feed our kids,” she added. “What I wish everyone would do was keep asking the actual 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 operates, and this whole idea of shareholder supremacy, it’s flowing to the 1%. If you flow so much money, you can’t even feed the people who made it possible.”
As Breitbart News reported in August, Actors and performers in the SAG-AFTRA union have been calling for AI protections in the video game industry. Over the past 20 years, video games have become an increasingly lucrative industry for actors, with voice work often going to high-level stars in mega-blockbuster video game series. With the advancement of AI, actors who have found steady work in that industry fear the work will soon dry up and have called for protections.
As noted by IGN, other voice actors in the video game industry have been raising concerns about pay disparity even among popular franchises.
“Hale revealed in October 2023 she was paid just $1,200 for her role as Naomi Hunter in the original Metal Gear Solid, a game which eventually grossed $176 million for publisher Konami,” noted the outlet.
“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lead Doug Cockle similarly expressed caution and frustration at the growing presence of artificial intelligence within the video game industry, calling it ‘inevitable’ but ‘dangerous,'” it added.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.