SAG-AFTRA Says Fortnite’s Use of AI Instead of Actors Is Unfair

The union that represents U.S. actors, journalists and other artists has filed an Unfair Labor Practices complaint against the production company for the popular interactive video game, Fortnite.

The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), filed the complaint against Llama Productions, which is wholly owned by Epic Games, Inc., charging that the game’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to recreate the voice of deceased actor James Earl Jones as Darth Vader violated Section 8(a), subsections (1) and (5) of the National Labor Relations Act.

Those sections read:

Sec. 8. [§ 158.] (a) [Unfair labor practices by employer] It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer–

(1) to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7 [section 157 of this title];…

 (5)  to refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees, subject   to the provisions of section 9(a) [section 159(a) of this title].

A statement released by SAG-AFTRA explained that, while the union “celebrate[s] the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome[s] the use of new technologies to allow new generations to share in the enjoyment of those legacies and renowned roles,” it views Llama’s decision to “replace the work of human performers with A.I. technology” as a violation of its right to bargain terms and conditions for its members. The statement claims Llama also did so without providing notice to SAG-AFTRA of its intent. “Llama Productions chose to replace the work of human performers with A.I. technology,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, they did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms.”

SAG-AFTRA has been waging very public battles against the use of AI for some time. In 2023, the union staged a months-long strike of actors and artists that in part was driven by the Hollywood studios’ use of AI to generate digital performances and replicate actors’ likenesses.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator,  testified at a 2024 Senate IP Subcommittee hearing on the “Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2023” (NO FAKES Act), which would create a federal IP right to an individual’s voice and likeness and which was recently reintroduced in the 119^th Congress.

Crabtree-Ireland said he liked that the bill but recommended adopting a durational limitation on transfers and licenses during an individual’s lifetime. “It’s essential to make sure someone doesn’t improvidently grant a transfer of rights early in life that turns out to be unfair to them,” he said. The present version of the bill includes such limitations.

According to a Fortnite blog post, however, Jones’ estate worked closely with the company on the plan to use AI. The post explained: “Darth Vader wouldn’t be nearly as sinister without the legendary performance of James Earl Jones, who voiced Vader in the Star Wars films. We’re honored to feature the voice of the late Mr. Jones and we thank his estate for the opportunity to make this happen for players.”

The post also included a statement from the family saying that Jones “felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it.”

This article was updated after publication to include omitted information.