Recently, a clip surfaced online showcasing an AI-driven version of Aloy from the Horizon series. The real-time AI bot was shown having a conversation with a human, responding to questions while standing in an in-game environment. The clip was subsequently taken down, but not before it reached Aloy’s actor, Ashly Burch, who raised key concerns.
She was advised by Guerrilla Games that the AI bot didn’t reflect anything in development, nor did it use her motion capture or vocal talents, but it’s still enough to set a worrying precedent about the character – and all other characters voiced by such iconic performers.
We’ve been here before – a while ago, I interviewed Doug Cockle (Geralt, The Witcher) about AI voice replication, and he labelled it ‘theft’.
‘I Feel Worried About This Art Form’
In a clip uploaded to TikTok, Ashly Burch addressed the current SAG-AFTRA strike, which is taking place because AI technology exists. She stressed that voice actors are asking for ‘protections’ against AI replication, which is arguably the biggest concern troubling actors – and it has been for the last year or two.
I feel worried, not because the technology exists, not even because game companies want to use it, because of course they do, they always want to use technological advancements, I just imagine a video like this coming out that does have someone’s performance attached to it.
That does have someone’s voice, or face, or movement, and the possibility that if we lose this fight, that person would have no recourse. They wouldn’t have any protections, any way to fight back, and that possibility, it makes me so sad. It hurts my heart, it scares me.
I love this industry and this art form so much and I want there to be a new generation of actors.
Ashly Burch has long fought for the betterment of the VA vertical. Almost a decade ago, she was unable to reprise her role as Chloe Price in Life is Strange: Before the Storm because she was striking with hundreds of other actors on the grounds of compensation rates and pay scales in the industry.
We’ve seen many actors fight back against AI replication. On social media, Roger Clark (Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption 2) and Ned Luke (Michael de Santa, GTA 5) have been outspoken against videos using AI versions of themselves – even if those videos are silly parodies or memes.
In September 2024, Jennifer Hale went on record as saying, ‘AI is coming for all of us.’
Do you think voice actors are right to be concerned about the sharp rise of AI replication? Let me know your thoughts in the comments or on the GPlayr forum.
For more GPlayr coverage, check out the news about Bobby Kotick’s latest defamation suit