Expert Available: New Union Deal Allows Actors to Sell the Rights of their Voices for Advertisers to Replicate with AI

This week, the Hollywood actors’ union SAG-AFTRA announced a new a deal that will allow actors to sell the rights of their voices to advertisers who would then replicate them through artificial intelligence. Through the deal with the online talent marketplace Narrativ, actors can agree to allow certain brands to replicate their voices using AI for audio ads with pre-approved scripts and consent on a job-by-job basis.

The deal comes one year after AI in the film industry was one of the reasons that helped spark an actors’ strike lasting four months. A SAG-AFTRA official says not all actors will be interested, but this deal now allows actors who are interested in selling the rights to their voices a safe way to do so.

If you would like more context on this matter, please consider Patricia Phalen, assistant director and associate professor of media and public affairs at the George Washington University. Phalen brings over 25 years of experience researching the intersection of media, culture, and human behavior. A lifelong interest in writing about human life experiences that captivate, inspire and offer thought-provoking conversations has led her to work in academia, television, and government. Her academic research focuses on the economic sociology of mass media organizations, particularly the various occupational cultures at work in television production. Her expertise includes politics, Hollywood and popular culture; Hollywood television production; women in media; and, audience research.

If you would like to speak with Prof. Phalen, please contact GW Senior Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].

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