Labor dispute erupts over AI-voiced Darth Vader in Fortnite
1 min read
Summary
Epic Games subsidiary Llama Productions is alleged to have implemented an AI-generated voice of Darth Vader in its Fortnite game without notifying or bargaining with the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA.
The company is signatory to the collective bargaining agreement for Fortnite, making it responsible for upholding terms on the employment of voice actors.
The union has filed a charge with the National Labour Relations Board, stating it wants to protect members’ rights to negotiate terms and conditions for uses of voice that replace their work.
The feature recently sparked controversy when players discovered they could prompt the AI to use inappropriate language, which Epic quickly resolved.
The AI-controlled in-game character uses Google’s Gemini 2.0 to generate dialogue and the ElevenLabs Flash v2.5 AI model, trained on the voice of the late James Earl Jones, to respond to player questions.
