SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a four-year contract with the major studios, which includes new provisions on synthetic actors and a merger of the union’s two pension funds.
Of those who cast ballots, 91.4% voted in favor of the contract and 8.6% were opposed. Turnout was 19.3% of eligible members.
The contract allows producers to use AI performers only if they bring “significant additional value” compared to a live actor or that actor’s digital avatar. The union has argued that the language — coupled with an arbitration provision — will limit the use of AI replicas to a handful of edge cases.
“We feel very confident what we’ve been able to achieve here is in the vanguard of what any industry wants to achieve,” said Sean Astin, the union’s president, in an interview last month.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s executive director, said in a statement on Thursday that the deal builds on gains made during the 2023 actors’ strike, which included a provision allowing actors’ AI replicas to be used only with their consent and with payment. He noted that the deal improves on residual terms and will “ensure synthetics remain the exception in our industry instead of the rule.”
