What SAG-AFTRA’s Landmark AI Deal Means for Actors
By Movieguide® Contributor
As the fight for the future of AI rages on in Hollywood, SAG-AFTRA reached a landmark deal with AI company Narrativ to allow union members to license their voice for AI reproduction in ads.
Narrativ has agreed to terms that will lead to the company providing informed consent and fulfilling compensation requirements. Performers who sign up to have their likeness used by Narrativ will be able to set their own rates, specify their ad preferences and require brands to obtain their consent before their likeness can be used.
“Not all members will be interested in taking advantage of the opportunities that licensing their digital voice replicas might offer, and that’s understandable. But for those who do, you now have a safe option,” said SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
“Narrativ has agreed to our terms, and its platform is an excellent example of how A.I. can be ethically used, by putting compensation, informed consent and control in the hands of the individual performers,” Crabtree-Ireland continued.
To further strengthen the union, SAG-AFTRA’s terms also stipulated that every ad generated using a union member must also make a contribution to the union’s health and retirement plans. Therefore, these gigs will count toward an actor’s eligibility for benefits.
“This is a new frontier for digital advertising,” said Narrativ co-founder Ben Gottdiener. “Ethical AI use doesn’t invalidate that vision. It strengthens it. By ensuring that every person involved in the creation of that message is informed about what it contains, consents to its use and is compensated fairly, we make that vision sustainable, repeatable and real.”
Even as this landmark deal is inked, SAG-AFTRA continues to fight for AI regulations in other parts of the industry. At the beginning of August, video game performers went on strike after 18 months of negotiations saw them continuing to struggle to achieve satisfactory AI protections.
Movieguide® previously reported:
After more than a year and a half of ongoing negotiations, video game actors represented by SAG-AFTRA have decided to go on strike due to unresolved issues in the realm of AI.
“Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable AI protections, but rather flagrant exploitations,” said Interactive Media Agreement Negotiation Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh. “We refuse this paradigm — we will not leave any of our members behind, nor will we wait for sufficient protection any longer.”
“We look forward to collaborating with teams on our Interim and Independent contractors, which provide AI transparency, consent and compensation to all performers, and to continuing to negotiate in good faith with this bargaining group when they are ready to join us in the world we all deserve,” Elmaleh continued.
Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and video game studios began in October 2022. Even as the dual strikes struck Hollywood last summer, video game performers were willing to wait for the large studios to come around to fair AI protections without forcing their hand. Unfortunately, their patience has not paid off, and with negotiations at a standstill after nearly two years, they have been forced to strike.
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