AI continues to be a controversial subject when it comes to the arts and video games are no exception. Unfortunately, gaming company Hi-Rez Studios doesn’t seem to understand why it's controversial, as they plan on using AI to clone the voices of actors.
Henry Shrader, a prominent voice actor, reiterated the fact that Hi-Rez will be using this controversial method for Smite and Paladins. The company is also making voice actors sign contracts to allow this, without ensuring their safety or benefiting financially.
Various voice actors asked if they could examine the contracts just to make sure the news is true. Apparently, Hi-Rez Studios said that they can’t see these contracts until they sign an NDA. This means they want actors to sign away their voicing rights before they can see the fine print.
Due to the nature of NDAs, actors can’t even warn others about the implementation of AI once they sign these agreements. The amount of shadiness behind this agreement makes it hard for any of these actors to trust this company.
Companies have responded to the use of AI in different ways. Disney outright hired an AI company to make the horrible-looking opening to Secret Invasion. Meanwhile, Steam banned a game for using AI art, though later iterated that they only did so because the publisher couldn’t prove that they owned the art.
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Overall, it’s a bad look for Hi-Rez Studios, especially since the company makes fan-favorite games like Smite and Paladins. At the time of writing, Hi-Rez has not responded to these accusations.