Ashly Burch, the voice actor behind Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Forbidden West, has expressed some concern over the frequent use of AI in the gaming industry, particularly surrounding voice acting. This comes in light of a leaked Sony video from last week which revealed that the company was creating AI versions of its beloved characters, starting with Aloy.
Burch revealed that developer Guerrilla Games and Sony reached out to her first regarding the AI demo, confirming that it did not use any of the voice data or facial data from her performance as Aloy. However, this still made Burch feel uneasy about the direction the gaming industry is leaning towards regarding the use of AI, especially if it opposes traditional voice acting.
Ashly Burch posted a video on her TikTok page expressing why she feels so concerned about the matter of AI. “We are currently on strike, SAG-AFTRA is on strike against video games, because of AI, because this technology exists, because we know game companies want to use it. We’re asking for protections,” she began. “So, currently what we’re fighting for is, that you have to get our consent, before you make an AI version of us, in any form. You have to compensate us fairly, and you have to tell us how you’re using this AI double.”
It seems like Sony complied with that part, at least, though she still worries about how this technology could be abused by gaming companies to the detriment of actual voice actors and performers. She stated:
“And I feel worried, not because the technology exists. Not even because game companies want to use it, cause of course they want to use it. 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 will 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. I want there to be so many more incredible game performances. I want to be able to continue to do this job.”
“I love games, I love game performers, I love game performances so much, and I believe that we deserve to be protected. So I’m going to keep fighting, and if you’re in the games community, then I hope you do too,” she concluded.
As gaming companies slowly gear towards AI, with some publishers like Activision already openly informing players about its use of AI to generate in-game assets for Call of Duty, there’s always a fear that voice actors will be in the most trouble.
Source: Ashly Burch on TikTok
