Voice actors in video games fear for their future as AI rises – use of his face, without compensation, left one such actor feeling ‘violated’

A voice actor, discovering his face had been used without his knowledge in another game, said it was ‘completely unethical’ – but allowed in his contract

That is why they, like Hollywood’s striking actors, feel the need to secure AI protection so their likenesses cannot be used without permission and compensation

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A still from the game “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare”. Video-game voice actors who lend their faces and voices to game like this are speaking out about the unregulated use of AI in their industry.

Published: 7:15pm, 24 Aug 2023

When Erik Passoja voiced a Belgian geneticist in a Call of Duty video game nearly 10 years ago, he did not expect that his face would also pop up on an entirely different character.

But following the game’s release in 2014, a friend told Passoja that his son had shot someone who looked just like him in the player-versus-player version of the game. The friend sent over a screenshot of a buff, armoured Passoja – but with shorter hair.

“I remember feeling violated,” says Passoja, a Los Angeles resident who also has worked on games including Diablo 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2.

To Passoja, the experience highlights what is at stake as the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA strikes and calls for better protections around the use of artificial intelligence, among other demands.

Actor, comedian and video game voice actor Erik Passoja is concerned about AI. Photo: TNS

Protections for game voice actors fall under a separate SAG-AFTRA contract for interactive work – striking actors can still do voice work for games.