Darth Vader

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Hollywood studios target AI image generator in copyright lawsuit

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The legal action follows similar moves in other creative industries, with more than a dozen major news companies suing AI company Cohere in February over copyright concerns. In 2023, a group of visual artists sued Midjourney for similar reasons.

Studios claim Midjourney knows what it’s doing

Beyond allowing users to create these images, the studios argue that Midjourney actively promotes copyright infringement by displaying user-generated content featuring copyrighted characters in its “Explore” section. The complaint states this curation “show[s] that Midjourney knows that its platform regularly reproduces Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Works.”

The studios also allege that Midjourney has technical protection measures available that could prevent outputs featuring copyrighted material but has “affirmatively chosen not to use copyright protection measures to limit the infringement.” They cite Midjourney CEO David Holz admitting the company “pulls off all the data it can, all the text it can, all the images it can” for training purposes.

According to Axios, Disney and NBCUniversal attempted to address the issue with Midjourney before filing suit. While the studios say other AI platforms agreed to implement measures to stop IP theft, Midjourney “continued to release new versions of its Image Service” with what Holz allegedly described as “even higher quality infringing images.”

“We are bringing this action today to protect the hard work of all the artists whose work entertains and inspires us and the significant investment we make in our content,” said Kim Harris, NBCUniversal’s executive vice president and general counsel, in a statement.

This lawsuit signals a new front in Hollywood’s conflict over AI. Axios highlights this shift: While actors and writers have fought to protect their name, image, and likeness from studio exploitation, now the studios are taking on tech companies over intellectual property concerns. Other major studios, including Amazon, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Sony, and Warner Bros., have not yet joined the lawsuit, though they share membership with Disney and Universal in the Motion Picture Association.

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Labor dispute erupts over AI-voiced Darth Vader in Fortnite

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For voice actors who previously portrayed Darth Vader in video games, the Fortnite feature starkly illustrates how AI voice synthesis could reshape their profession. While James Earl Jones created the iconic voice for films, at least 54 voice actors have performed as Vader in various media games over the years when Jones wasn’t available—work that could vanish if AI replicas become the industry standard.

The union strikes back

SAG-AFTRA’s labor complaint (which can be read online here) doesn’t focus on the AI feature’s technical problems or on permission from the Jones estate, which explicitly authorized the use of a synthesized version of his voice for the character in Fortnite. The late actor, who died in 2024, had signed over his Darth Vader voice rights before his death.

Instead, the union’s grievance centers on labor rights and collective bargaining. In the NLRB filing, SAG-AFTRA alleges that Llama Productions “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.”

The action comes amid SAG-AFTRA’s ongoing interactive media strike, which began in July 2024 after negotiations with video game producers stalled primarily over AI protections. The strike continues, with more than 100 games signing interim agreements, while others, including those from major publishers like Epic, remain in dispute.

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The empire strikes back with F-bombs: AI Darth Vader goes rogue with profanity, slurs

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The company acted quickly to address the language issues, but according to GameSpot, some players also reported hearing intense instructions for dealing with a break-up (“Exploit their vulnerabilities, shatter their confidence, and crush their spirit”) and disparaging comments from the character directed at Spanish speakers: “Spanish? A useful tongue for smugglers and spice traders,” AI Vader said. “Its strategic value is minimal.”

To be fair to Epic’s attempt at an AI implementation, Darth Vader is a deeply evil character (i.e. murders sandpeople, hates sand), and the remarks seem consistent with his twisted and sadistic personality. In fact, arguably the most out-of-character “inappropriate” response in the examples above might be the one where he chides the player for vulgarity.

On Friday afternoon, Epic Games sent out an email seeking to reassure parents who may have come across the news about the misbehaving AI character. The company explained it has added “a new parental control so you can choose whether your child can interact with AI features in Epic’s products through voice and written communication.” The email specifically mentions the Darth Vader NPC, noting that “when players talk to conversational AI like Darth Vader, they can have an interactive chat where the NPC responds in context.” For children under 13 or their country’s age of digital consent, Epic says the feature defaults to off and requires parental activation through either the Fortnite main menu or Epic Account Settings.

These aren’t the words you’re looking for

Getting an AI character to match the tone or backstory of an established fictional character isn’t as easy as it might seem. Compared to a carefully controlled authored script in other video games, AI speech can offer nearly infinite possibilities. Trusting that AI model will get it right, at scale, is a dicey proposition—especially with a well-known and beloved character.

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