Generative AI is being surrounded by controversy lately. Sure, it can entertain viewers by having them listen to their favorite actors voice a line they wouldn’t normally say in a clip. However, it violates copyright laws, as these content creators use generative AI without getting permission from the owner of the copyrighted voice.
AI caused quite the disruption for the voice acting community in general, since it can literally imitate or create new voices for videos and television. It can potentially replace humans to voice act and companies that have portions of the copyrights can use these voices for their own benefits. This has been going out of hand and several voice actors in Japan have stepped up to address the problem.
Eren, Lelouch, Frieza, amongst others, protest against Generative AI
A group of 26 famous voice actors, including Ryūsei Nakao (Frieza), Yūki Kaji (Eren Yeager), Kōichi Yamadera (Spike Spiegel), Daisuke Namikawa (Hisoka), Jun Fukuyama (Lelouch Lamperouge), and Romi Park (Hange Zoe), formed a group called “No More Mudan Seisei AI” (No More Unauthorized Generative AI) and launched their first video on YouTube on Oct 15, 2024.
The video starts with Ryūsei Nakao saying that his voice is his livelihood and was surprised that his voice was being sold without his permission. He then asks people to listen to the voice actors’ thoughts about the unauthorized use of generative AI. The 20-second video concludes with all voice actors appealing for the cause by uttering the group’s name “No More Mudan Seisei AI” in unison.
The video description tells a similar story, in which the voice actors explain how much their voices and the works generated through them mean so much to them. If this problem isn’t addressed, generative AI can tarnish all their hard work and their reputation in an instant.
We are watching and hearing readings, songs, and voice work we don’t remember doing, and the voices themselves are published and sometimes sold on the Internet. Our voices are the tools of our trade, our very lives, a precious part of ourselves that we have grown up with. It is not a pleasant feeling to have our voices used without our permission, even if the fans did it because they wanted to “hear more of this voice. New technologies will bring great benefits to us humans in the future. But at the same time, we would like to expand our perspective to include our feelings toward each other and the future of our culture, have discussions, and think about how we should all use technology together. We made this video to serve as a catalyst for this. Instead of exchanging words and actions that hurt each other, let’s have discussions with experts to peacefully reconcile our understandings and create cultural rules. Let’s not make the soil that produces good works wither away, long after 10 or 20 years.
This is not the first time such an awareness by voice actors and writers was made. In 2023, the American actors’ union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) was on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). But in 2024, video game actors joined the strike by targeting game companies and making them enter a contract.
Updates on the 2024 SAG-AFTRA video game strike
On July 26, 2024, members of the Screen Actors Guild went on a strike against the video game industry. The actors are seeking a contract that would require game developers to notify them, inform them about how their work will be used and obtain their consent before replicating their voices or likenesses with AI.
According to Variety, the negotiating teams for the video game companies and SAG-AFTRA have continued exchanging proposals and have reached agreements on 24 out of the 25 total proposals at hand, but have not returned to the table.
The decision to set an Oct. 23 date to get back to the bargaining table comes on the heels of SAG-AFTRA’s Sept. 24 announcement that “League of Legends” has been added to the list of blocked titles. It wasn’t originally part of the list but because it is so popular, the Guild members decided to add it as well.
Attack on Titan, Code Geass, and Hunter X Hunter are all available to watch on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
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