Last week, Epic continued its ongoing project of forcing every existent tech trend into the metaversal melting pot known as Fortnite by adding an AI-powered version of Darth Vader to the game. "Ask him all your pressing questions about the Force, the Galactic Empire... or you know, a good strat for the last Storm circle,” the company wrote in a news post, also noting that it received the blessing of deceased actor James Earl Jones’ family. “The Sith Lord has opinions." You can probably imagine how this has gone!
Mere moments after the cyborg Sith Lord imperial marched his way into the game on Friday, players began tricking him into swearing, saying slurs, and being low-key racist. Epic issued a statement to Kotaku saying that it has patched out these less savory tendencies of a genocidal villain who nonetheless must function as the face of a family-friendly mega-corporation looking to extract as much shareholder value as possible from a $1.5 billion collaboration deal.
“We pushed a hot fix within 30 minutes of this happening in-game, so this shouldn’t happen again,” an Epic spokesperson wrote, noting that players who repeatedly push Vader’s buttons will eventually be barred from recruiting him during a gameplay session and saying that the company has added a new parental control called "allow voice and written communication with AI Features."
Since then, some players have complained that AI Vader is boring now, while others have enjoyed poking and prodding at the sand-hating sad boi, but have ultimately seen this (and, by extension, pretty much every other variety of generative AI NPC) for what it is: a gimmick, the novelty of which quickly wears off.
“It was fun for one night for me and my friends but we kinda aren't gonna use it for the rest of the season,” reads the top comment in a Fortnite subreddit thread about how Epic should bring back this tech in future seasons.
But, as befits anything involving Star Wars, the saga did not – and indeed, could not – end there. Today, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) – currently striking over AI-related protections for video game voice actors and performers – filed an unfair labor practice against one of the companies involved in AI Vader’s creation. The union began by saying that it celebrates “the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies to allow new generations to share in the enjoyment of those legacies and renowned roles,” but “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.”
"Fortnite's signatory company, Llama Productions, chose to replace the work of human performers with A.I. technology,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement received by Aftermath. “Unfortunately, they did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms. As such, we have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB against Llama Productions."
The filing, which can be viewed here, states that Llama, a subsidiary of Epic, “within the past six months… failed and refused to bargain in good faith with the union by making unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment, without providing notice to the union or the opportunity to bargain, by utilizing AI-generated voices to replace bargaining unit work on the Interactive Program Fortnite."
Which is bad! But the larger context surrounding all of this is what really reeks. In Epic’s first post about AI Vader, it included a statement attributed to the family of James Earl Jones.
"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,” the statement read. “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 this is not that character; instead, it’s a pliant puppet wearing his skin and parroting his voice. This is no legacy. It’s a farce, a cruel joke played on a dead man. Darth Vader, as depicted in Star Wars, was similarly resuscitated after what should have been his demise, but at least he maintained some semblance of free will and was ultimately able to choose his own grisly end. James Earl Jones, a real person, has not even been afforded that mercy.
