Elmaleh has been speaking to companies about how they can treat their actors ethically and collaborate with SAG-AFTRA. She also mentioned a new tiered agreement designed to cater to indie developers and smaller budgets. The agreement offers discounted rates for budgets ranging from $250,000 to $15 million. Elmaleh believes that the use of AI in games should not be seen as a cheap alternative, but rather developers should value the performance and collaboration with actors.
Key takeaways:
- Sarah Elmaleh, chair of a union committee for SAG-AFTRA, is leading negotiations with the game industry over the impact of AI on performers who give life to video game characters.
- Elmaleh believes that transparency, consent, and compensation are the three key principles that should guide the use of AI in the gaming industry.
- She suggests that AI can be seen as a prosthetic extension of an actor's performance, allowing for more work to be done and value to be returned to the actor.
- Elmaleh encourages developers to engage in good faith conversations with actors and SAG-AFTRA to ensure ethical use of AI and to create a paradigm that benefits everyone in the industry.