New SAG-AFTRA and Ethovox Agreement Empowers Actors and Secures Essential A.I. Guardrails

SAG-AFTRA and Ethovox today announced a new agreement that ensures performers are protected and empowered in the A.I. age. 

Co-founded by BAFTA Games Award-winner Cissy Jones, Ethovox is building a fully-authenticated foundational A.I. model for voice. In addition to ensuring performers can participate in Ethovox’s consensual foundational model knowing that they will be protected and compensated fairly, the voice model will reflect a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Further, the SAG-AFTRA-Ethovox contract leads the field in performer compensation as it provides both session fees and ongoing revenue sharing for the life of the foundational model.

A foundational voice model provides the basis for digital replicas. It requires volumes of underlying voice data to enable the replicas to function properly. The Ethovox model will not be user-facing, and the voices included in the model will not be identifiable in any of the speech generated. 

“What will safeguard voice actors’ livelihoods in the A.I. age is more contractual protection, not less,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “That’s why SAG-AFTRA will continue to recognize A.I. companies, like Ethovox, that agree with our union’s A.I. guidelines. Not everyone will want to work with an A.I. company, and that’s understandable. But for those who intend to utilize the opportunities A.I. offers, it’s important that agreements require companies to secure informed consent, and provide fair compensation. Without informed consent and fair compensation, this new era will become a ‘Wild West’ of A.I. misuse and exploitation.”

Longtime advocate for A.I. regulations and guardrails, Ethovox CEO Cissy Jones said, “Ethovox is the only voice AI company owned and managed by voice actors, and we are pleased to be partnering with SAG-AFTRA on building a foundational voice A.I. model that prioritizes the interests of voice actors. A.I. should be a choice. For that reason, we have reached out to the voice actor community throughout this process. Ethovox will continue to do so as we demonstrate that artists can, and should, be compensated for contributing to ethical A.I. development while also maintaining consent and control over their voice data.”

The Ethovox Agreement was approved by the union’s Corporate/Educational & Non-Broadcast Committee and was additionally presented to and approved by SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Committee.

Visit www.sagaftra.org/ethovox to learn more about what this agreement means for performers interested in this opportunity.

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.