Fortnite’s AI Darth Vader Could Mean Danger for Gaming Voice Actors

The Gamer discusses how the Fortnite AI Vader could be a threat to voice actors. SAG-AFTRA has already filed an unfair labor practice charge against Epic Games’ signature company, Llama Productions, for the use of the bot. As much fun as people had making Vader swear before the ability was patched out, is the amusement worth costing voice actors their jobs? For example, you’ve probably never heard of Scott Lawrence, but he has portrayed Darth Vader in Star Wars video games ever since Star Wars: TIE Fighter way back in 1994.  Now the future of his career is uncertain.

“AI Doesn’t Know What That Is, and These People Do.”

The Gamer interviewed Karen Panetta, an AI specialist from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Panetta says, “There’s still room for artists to be able to use AI,” even while acknowledging that some voice actors will lose their jobs. She thinks that a future use for voice actors could be in the training of AI with emotions:

“Right now, AI is having trouble with that, because what does sensitive mean? Does it mean you’re crying? Does it mean you talk softly? What does that mean? And this is where they’re really going to shine, because AI doesn’t know what that is, and these people do.”

The Future Looks Grim

Voice actors dedicate countless hours to finding just the right voice for a character, and if Panetta genuinely thinks they will be satisfied with using their voices to train AI bots – the very things that are threatening their jobs – she doesn’t have a firm grasp on human nature. Fortnite’s Darth Vader has opened the door for other chatbots to replace human actors. Though we’re still figuring out what the ethical applications of AI are, we need to remember that creativity is one of the fundamental things that makes us human. What does it say about us if we hand that creativity over to robots?