Online video game platform Fortnite has added an AI-powered Darth Vader NPC to the game, one which uses the voice of late actor James Earl Jones. And the reaction has been far from positive.
“Strategise with the ultimate Sith Lord. With your voice. And he’ll respond back using conversational AI,” reads a statement from Epic Games. “Darth Vader has touched down once again as a boss in Battle Royale. Ask him all your pressing questions about the Force, the Galactic Empire… or you know, a good strat for the last Storm circle. The Sith Lord has opinions.”
Epic Games added that Darth Vader “wouldn’t be nearly as sinister without the legendary performance of James Earl Jones,” who voiced Vader in the Star Wars films.
They also shared a statement from Jones’ family: “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it. We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.”
But fans aren’t having any of it.
“It doesn’t matter if the family thinks it’s cool or not, it’s still disturbing to use a dead man’s voice for your kid’s shooter,” wrote one fan on Reddit.
Another queried: “Do you really think resurrecting dead people for monetary profit is going to stop here, especially with Disney?”, while a fan added: “I will not partake in the act of Digital Necromancy and I will openly judge everyone who does. Shame on you all.”
Problematically - and depressing in its predictability - as soon as Darth Vader was added into the game, players were getting the character to say the word “fuck” and use homophobic slurs.
“This is really disappointing. I wasn’t a big fan of a Star Wars season but throwing AI into the mix is absolutely butchering any excitement I might have had for the future of Fortnite. I hope this feature leaves and never comes back,” wrote a player on Reddit.
Adding to the backlash is Hollywood's actors' union, who have filed an unfair labor practice charge against Llama Productions on Monday, alleging the company replaced actors' work by using artificial intelligence to generate Darth Vader's voice in Fortnite without notice.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said Llama Productions, a subsidiary of gaming giant Epic Games, “failed and refused to bargain in good faith with the union” in the last six months. The company made unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of employment “without providing notice to the union or the opportunity to bargain” by using AI-generated voices to replace bargaining unit work, SAG-AFTRA said.
In a statement, SAG-AFTRA said the union supports the rights of members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas.
“However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games,” the union said.
