Fortnite’s AI Darth Vader Has Drawn An Official Complaint From SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA has taken issue with Epic Games’ AI Darth Vader, although it might not be for quite the reason you’re thinking of. Since being added to Epic’s battle royale, Fortnite, the AI-voiced character has drawn quite a bit of attention as players are allowed to speak to it in-game using Google’s Gemini 2.0. This means that the character can respond to players, provided they use the Conversational AI feature when interacting with him.

Of course, the announcement of this feature, which includes an AI-generated voice based on James Earl Jones’ depiction of the character, resulted in a lot of speculation about how it could be abused. And, it took no time for players to begin producing results that the devs were likely not hoping for, such as getting Darth Vader to swear.

None of this, however, is why SAG has filed an unfair labor complaint. According to an article on The Verge, the union’s issue with AI Vader has to do with it’s use cutting out voice actors represented by the union “who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games”.

In its statement, SAG noted that Llama Productions, Fortnite’s signatory company, “chose to replace the work of human performers with AI technology” and that “they did so without providing any notice of their intent” and “without bargaining with [SAG] over appropriate terms”.