Ashly Burch, the talented voice behind Aloy in the acclaimed Horizon series, has voiced her apprehensions regarding the increasing integration of artificial intelligence in game development. In a candid TikTok post, she addressed a recently leaked tech demo from Guerrilla Games that showcased an AI-generated rendition of her character, Aloy.
Concerns Amidst Industry Changes
While Burch acknowledged that Guerrilla Games has assured her that the demo does not represent an active project, her worries extend beyond her personal experience. The leak coincides with an ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which is primarily focused on the implications of AI technology in the gaming industry, particularly concerning voice and performance capture.
“Guerrilla reached out to let me know that they didn’t use any of my performance for the demo, nor any of my facial or voice data. Guerrilla owns Aloy as a character,” Burch explained. Despite this reassurance, she expressed a broader concern for the future of game performance as an art form.
“I feel worried, and not worried about Guerrilla specifically or Horizon or my performance or my career specifically; I feel worried about this art form, game performance,” she stated. Burch emphasized the significance of the ongoing strike, highlighting that SAG-AFTRA is advocating for protections against the potential misuse of AI technology in video games. “We are asking for protections,” she concluded, underscoring the urgency of the conversation surrounding AI in the creative landscape of gaming.
