Recently, the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has reached a significant agreement with Narrativ, an AI cloning startup, which could lead to more AI-generated voices being prevalent in advertisements. SAG-AFTRA, representing media workers in the United States, announced that this collaboration will provide its members with a secure option to legally authorize their vocal talents for AI-generated audio.
Image Source: Picture generated by AI, provided by Midjourney, an image licensing service.
Under the agreement, Narrativ commits to following certain rules, including clearly stating to actors what their AI clones will say in advertisements and allowing actors the opportunity to decline the brand's offer. If actors agree to participate, they will have the right to set prices and negotiate to ensure reasonable compensation. Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA's benefit plan will also receive revenue from every ad played through Narrativ, although the specific revenue-sharing ratio has not been disclosed.
It is noteworthy that many celebrities' AI clones have already been widely circulated on the internet, often without authorization. Before reaching the agreement with Narrativ, the relationship between SAG-AFTRA and the AI industry was very tense, even going on strike for four months in 2023 over AI cloning issues. This agreement represents a reconciliation of previous conflicts.
However, SAG-AFTRA's video game voice actors are currently on strike to seek more protection regarding AI. Despite this, the union's stance on AI issues seems to be gradually yielding results, and we look forward to their further success in the video game voice actors' strike.
Key Points:
🌟 SAG-AFTRA has reached an agreement with Narrativ, allowing actors to legally authorize AI voice cloning.
📝 Brands must disclose AI clone content, and actors have the right to refuse or negotiate compensation.
💰 SAG-AFTRA's benefit plan will receive a share of ad revenue, with the specific ratio yet to be disclosed.