AI Is Coming for Us

Jennifer Hale has been a fumbling alien, a screaming six-year-old and a superhero who saves the world. The voice actor, whose work in animation and video games includes “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “Baldur’s Gate,” “X-Men ’97” and countless more, is one of the most recognizable voices in video games.

Currently, the gaming industry is at a halt after SAG-AFTRA called a strike against the major video game publishers on July 25. The strike was called after more than a year of negotiations, and it echoes the actors and writers strikes of last year. Like the dual strikes, AI is a major sticking point in the union’s talks.

“AI is coming for all of us,” Hale says. “Because the truth is, AI is just a tool like a hammer. If I take my hammer, I could build you a house. I can also take that same hammer and I can smash your skin and destroy who you are.”

Hale emphasizes the existential nature of the conflict makes this strike particularly difficult. She says SAG-AFTRA’s latest counter offer to video game companies has been included in the current interim agreement signed by nearly 70 developers. 

The actor explains how the National Association of Voice Actors has gone before Congress with congressional bills such as the “NO FAKES Act,” which would protect people’s voice and visual likeness against generative AI. She urges fans to call their representatives to vote for bills like this.

“If you use something that originated in our body or our voices, can we please get paid?” Hale says. “Because now you’re using technology to take away our ability to feed our kids.”

One of the first video game franchises Hale ever worked on was “Metal Gear,” in which she voiced female lead Naomi Hunter. Hale explains she was paid scale for two sessions totaling $1,200, while the game itself would go on to gross around $176 million.

“What I wish everyone would do was keep asking the actual question, which is, ‘there’s a lot of money being made here. Where is it going?’ And in the current setup, the way our system operates, and this whole idea of shareholder supremacy, it’s flowing to the 1%. If you flow so much money, you can’t even feed the people who made it possible.”