Ashly Burch Worried About AI's Impact on Game Art

Horizon actor Ashly Burch has addressed the AI Aloy video that leaked online last week, using it to call attention to the demands of striking voice actors.

Last week, The Verge reported on the emergence of an internal Sony video showcasing technology that uses Aloy from the Horizon series to demonstrate AI-powered characters. Sony has yet to respond to IGN's request for comment.

In the now-deleted video, Sony Interactive Entertainment's director of software engineering, Sharwin Raghoebardajal, converses with an AI-powered Aloy using voice prompts and AI-generated speech and facial animations. Raghoebardajal inquires about Aloy's well-being, to which she replies, "Hello, I'm managing alright. Just dealing with a sore throat. How have you been?"

The voice emanating from Aloy's mouth is distinctly not that of Burch, but rather a robotic tone akin to text-to-speech generators. AI Aloy's facial movements are rigid, and her eyes lack the lifelike quality seen in Burch's performances.

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New duel1ST2ND3RDSee your ResultsFinish playing for your personal results or see the community’s!Continue playingSee resultsBurch, who has voiced Aloy in all four Horizon video games released to date (Zero Dawn, Forbidden West, Call of the Mountain, and Lego Horizon Adventures), took to the social media platform TikTok to confirm that she had seen the video. She also noted that Horizon developer Guerrilla had reached out to inform her that the tech demo did not represent anything in active development, nor did it utilize any of Burch's performance data. This presumably eliminates the possibility of AI Aloy appearing in the upcoming Horizon multiplayer game or the inevitable Horizon 3. However, Burch pointed out that Guerrilla (and its parent company, Sony Interactive Entertainment) retains ownership of the Aloy character.

With these points in mind, Burch expressed her concern about the future of game performance as an art form, using the AI Aloy video as a catalyst to discuss the ongoing video game voice actors' strike, which has recently seen several high-profile casualties.

Last week, the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) updated its members on the negotiations regarding video game actor AI protections. While progress has been made, the guild remains "frustratingly far apart" from the industry bargaining group on critical issues.

"Currently, what we're fighting for is that you must obtain our consent before creating an AI version of us in any form, you must compensate us fairly, and you must disclose how you're using this AI double," Burch explained.

"I feel worried not because the technology exists. Not even because game companies want to use it. Of course, they do. They always want to leverage technological advancements. I just imagine a video like this coming out that does feature someone's performance, their voice, face, or movements. If we lose this fight, that person would have no recourse. They wouldn't have any protections or any way to fight back. And that possibility, it saddens me deeply. 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 many more incredible game performances. I want to continue doing this job. If we don't win, that future is seriously compromised.

"I'm genuinely not trying to single out any game company," Burch continued. "Certainly not Guerrilla. The technology itself isn't the problem. Game companies wanting to use the technology isn't the issue. The problem is that we're currently on strike, and the bargaining group will not agree to give us common sense protections.

"I support the strike. I've always supported the strike. I believe fighting is what we must do to protect the future and longevity of this career that we all love so much."

Burch then highlighted the temporary union contracts that currently offer all the protections the striking voice actors are seeking, which any video game company can sign immediately. "There are the interim, the tiered, and low-budget agreement contracts available right now for any game company to sign," Burch said. "I believe we deserve to be protected."

@ashly.burch let us speak on AI aloy

♬ original sound - Ashly Burch

blockquote.tiktok-embed[data-video-id='7481742753991314734'] { width: 325px; margin-left: 0; } blockquote.tiktok-embed iframe { border-radius: 8px; }Generative AI is one of the most debated topics within the video game and entertainment industries, which have faced significant layoffs in recent years. It has drawn criticism from players and creators due to ethical and rights issues, as well as AI's struggles to create content that audiences enjoy. For instance, Keywords Studios attempted to create an experimental game using entirely AI, but the game failed, with Keywords citing to investors that AI was "unable to replace talent."

Nevertheless, several video game companies continue to explore generative AI in their product development. Activision recently disclosed the use of generative AI for some Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 assets as part of new requirements on Steam, amid backlash to an "AI slop" zombie Santa loading screen.

The voice actor strike has begun to affect numerous video games. Players have reported that games such as Destiny 2 and World of Warcraft have certain NPCs left unvoiced in otherwise voiced scenes, likely due to the strike. Late last year, SAG-AFTRA struck League of Legends after Riot allegedly tried to subvert the strike by canceling a game in response. And Activision confirmed Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 characters were recast after players expressed concern about new voices.

Just last week, two Zenless Zone Zero voice actors revealed they learned they'd been replaced when they saw the game's latest patch notes.

Head of PlayStation Productions and head of product at PlayStation Studios Asad Qizilbash recently weighed in on AI to say its use in video games is important to Gen Z and Gen Alpha gamers who seek "personalization across everything."

"For instance, non-player characters in games could interact with players based on their actions, making it feel more personal,” Qizilbash said. “This is important for the younger Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, who are the first generations that grew up digitally and are looking for personalization across everything, as well as seeking experiences to have more meaning."