SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland Joins AI Panel at San Diego Comic-Con

SAG-AFTRA announced today that its national executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, will be joining a panel discussion on artificial intelligence at San Diego Comic-Con on July 22.

Over the last year, generative AI has exploded into the mainstream. Not only does this technology have significant ramifications for artists of all kinds, it’s also one of the core subjects of contention that led actors to strike.

Voice actors performing in video games are especially concerned with the proliferation of generative AI and the already existing capability to create synthetic voices because they fear that their voices and likenesses could be used without their informed consent. Crabtree-Ireland will discuss the hazards and opportunities AI presents, how the union is approaching the issue, the laws surrounding this new technology, and its role in the strike.

Also appearing on the panel, which was organized by SAG-AFTRA members and the National Association of Voice Actors, will be Ashly Burch (Mythic Quest, Horizon Zero Dawn), Cissy Jones (The Owl House, Transformers Earthrise), Zeke Alton (The Callisto Protocol, SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee), and Tim Friedlander (Record of Ragnarok, president/founder of NAVA). Linsay Rousseau (Transformers: War for Cybertron, God of War Ragnarok) will moderate.

A day before the panel, on July 21, from noon to 2 p.m., panelists will hold a press conference at the Hilton Bayfront, Aqua Level Location, 300A. It will offer members of the media the opportunity to get their questions answered about this emerging technology and the impacts it’s having on the entertainment industry.

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.