French Voice Actors for Apex Legends Battle Against AI

Several voice actors from the French version of Apex Legends have made waves recently by refusing to sign a contract related to AI training. The buzz started when Pascale Chemin, who lends her voice to the character Wraith in the French version of the game, took to Twitter with some interesting revelations. It seems a certain publisher—almost certainly Electronic Arts—had slipped a new clause into their contracts, aiming to use their voice recordings to train AI models. Though the specific game and publisher weren’t explicitly named, all signs point toward Apex Legends and EA.

In a significant show of unity, a total of 31 other voice talents involved in the project joined Chemin in rejecting the agreement. Together, they drafted a letter expressing their refusal to the company. In Chemin’s own words, translated by ResetEra, she stressed the importance of collective action: “If we don’t stand together now to ensure that a clause protecting our voices becomes a standard in our contracts—not just for us, but across all video game dubbing studios—we’ll miss our chance and face a grim future.”

Chemin also addressed the difficult reality many actors are facing. She pointed out the dilemma: “The idea of refusing work seems irrational when there’s so little of it available. Many in our field are financially strained, and money is indeed an enticing prospect. But what’s being asked of us goes beyond a simple job. We’re being asked to hand over our hard-earned expertise to train AI—a technology that could potentially render us obsolete. It’s essentially asking us to undermine our own futures. It feels like pulling the trigger on ourselves. We’re being asked to back AI, but at what cost?”

Her passionate words shed light on a significant issue in the industry, where the balance of leveraging AI without sacrificing human talent remains a contentious debate.