Hi-Rez Studios, the people behind Paladins and Smite, have stated that they will be using AI to clone voices and refused to add in any words to contracts that would protect actors from it
Twitter thread in the link
Henry Schrader:
So, to anyone who doesn't know, Hi-Rez Studios, the people behind Paladins and Smite, have stated that they will be using AI to clone voices and refused to add in any words to contracts that would protect actors from it. More info in the thread. Please share to other VAs.
10 replies
But they’ll still expect you to pay out of your nose for these fake voices. Fantastic.
HiRez being scummy? Well I never, thats not like them at all....
Tribes.. thats all I need to say
Yeah, the could release the best game ever made and I'd still avoid it.
They are scammers who do not comply with the law, these unethical practices are minor things to them.
This is the most on-brand and least surprising post I’ve seen today.
They don't, if you have a professional enough company wrangling them into the right delivery. I know a game that's (consensually) replaced a VA for over a year now, and they're good enough at it that you really forget it's an AI sometimes. Here's an example - I bet you can't tell which of the four is the fake voice. (Even if you don't understand Mandarin, you can try to discern through tone and delivery.)
Now, mind you I'm NOT saying Hi-Rez Studios is skilled enough to do it right, nor that it's right to do this without the actors' consent. The situation described in the article is pure bullshit scummery.
But... with the right talent behind the AI gen, they really don't suck.
We'll agree to disagree there. People should be asked for consent to use their likenesses, whether visual or audio.
Is there a provision for paying the actor's family a performance fee each time he or she performs in a synthetic voice after his or her death?
Cool. Now I really want to play Smite. If only it were available without DRM.