Summary
- Ashly Burch, voice of Aloy, worries about AI in the gaming industry.
- She expressed concerns about her rights amid AI tech developments.
- The current SAG-AFTRA strike seeks protection for actors from AI threats.
Horizon franchise voice actor Ashly Burch is concerned about the state of the gaming industry and its relation to vocal and motion capture talent after the recent reveal of Sony’s Aloy AI chatbot. Fans have already pointed out the irony of an AI version of the Horizon franchise’s main character, but Burch’s worries extend beyond the bot itself as she looks towards the future of the acting industry’s relationship with video games.
Aloy stands among Spider-Man and Kratos as one of PlayStation’s most recognizable characters in the past several years of game releases. Along with memorable roles in Life is Strange and the Attack on Titan anime, Burch is perhaps best known for her appearances as Aloy, whom she has played in Horizon: Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West, and, most recently, last year’s LEGO Horizon Adventures.
But the recently leaked Aloy AI chatbot demo being developed by Sony is giving her cause for alarm. The YouTube video that leaked Sony’s plans for AI chatbots, which has since been taken down due to copyright issues, left a lot of questions about what its purpose will be, but it’s also caused some unease with the game franchise’s lead actor. In a four-and-a-half-minute video posted to TikTok, Burch noted that developer Guerrilla Games, who owns the rights to the character, reached out to assure her that it did not use any of her vocal or motion performances and that it “didn’t reflect anything that was actively in development.” Despite easing her worries about her own personal future as the actor behind Aloy, the news left her worried about “game performance as an art form.”
Horizon’s Aloy Actor Is Worried About the Future of AI
SAG-AFTRA actors have been on strike since July 2024, following a similar strike the prior year. The current strike is largely being held to ensure protections for actors as generative AI poses a potential threat to replacing human actors in video game production. Burch also brought up the ongoing strike in her recent video, reiterating the union’s demands for consent to use their physical or vocal likenesses and that actors be informed and compensated fairly if game companies plan to create AI doubles.
Burch did not blame Guerilla Games or any other company for the recent developments, and she acknowledged the obvious benefits of gaming companies wanting to make use of the latest advancements in AI technology. However, she is worried that another actor may soon be put in a situation unlike hers, in which their work will be used without consent or fair compensation, and that, under the current mandates, they would have no legal recourse. The lack of common-sense protections, in her eyes, could lead to a future in which video game acting is a severely compromised profession. “It hurts my heart. It scares me,” she said. “I love this industry and this art form so much, and I want there to be a new generation of actors.”
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2025-03-16 00:51