Horizon Actor Ashly Burch Says Sony's AI Aloy Video Left Her Feeling 'Worried About Game Performance as an Art Form'
Ashly Burch, the actor who plays Aloy in Horizon, has spoken out about the leaked AI video featuring her character. She used this opportunity to highlight the concerns of voice actors who are currently on strike. The video showcasing the technology involving Aloy was reported by The Verge last week. Burch emphasized the need for protection and fair treatment for voice actors in the industry.
Ashly Burch Addresses AI Aloy Video
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, reported on the emergence of. Sony has yet to respond to IGN’s request for comment.
In the now deleted video, Sony Interactive Entertainment director of software engineering, Sharwin Raghoebardajal, has a conversation with an AI-powered Aloy via voice prompts and AI-generated speech and facial animations. Raghoebardajal asks Aloy how she's doing, to which she responds: "Hello, I'm managing alright. Just dealing with a sore throat. How have you been?" The voice heard coming from Aloy's mouth is clearly not that of Burch, rather a robotic voice similar to those heard from text-to-speech voice generators. AI Aloy's facial movements are stiff and her eyes appear lifeless as she converses with Raghoebardajal.
Burch, who has voiced Aloy in all four Horizon video games released so far (Zero Dawn, Forbidden West, Call of the Mountain, and Lego Horizon Adventures) took to social media platform TikTok to confirm that she had seen the video, and that Horizon developer Guerrilla had got in touch to let her know that the tech demo did not reflect anything that was in active development, nor did it use any of Burch’s performance (facial or voice data). That presumably rules out AI Aloy for.
Voice Actors Strike
However, as Burch pointed out, Guerrilla (and parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment) owns Aloy as a character. With all this in mind, Burch said the AI Aloy video left her feeling “worried about game performance as an art form,” and used it as a jumping off point to discuss the ongoing video game voice actors strike that has claimed a number of high-profile casualties in recent weeks.
Last week, the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued an update to its members on the status of negotiations over video game actor AI protections, saying that while progress had been made, it was still "frustratingly far apart" with the industry bargaining group on key issues.
“Currently what we’re fighting for is, 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,” Burch said.
“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 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. I want there to be so many more incredible game performances. I want to be able to continue to do this job. If we don’t win, that future is really compromised.
Generative AI in Video Games
Generative AI is one of the hottest topics within the video game and entertainment industries, which have both suffered massive layoffs in recent years. It has drawn criticism from players and creators due to a mix of ethical issues, rights issues, and AI’s struggles to produce content audiences actually enjoy.
For instance, Keywords Studios attempted to create an experimental game internally using entirely AI., with Keywords citing to investors that AI was “unable to replace talent.” Still, that hasn’t put off a number of video game companies from using generative AI in the development of their products.
As part of new requirements on Steam, amid a backlash to an "AI slop" zombie Santa loading screen. And the voice actor strike has begun to impact a number of video games. Players have reported that games such as Destiny 2 and World of Warcraft appear to 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. And Activision confirmed after players expressed concern about new voices. Just last week, 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 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 looking for experiences to have more meaning."