Voice Actor for Aloy in "Horizon" Games Creeped Out by AI Version of Her Character

Ashly Burch, the voice actor behind Aloy from the acclaimed PlayStation titles Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Hidden West, has responded to the leaked tech demo showing off a clumsy but uncanny AI imitation of her performance as the character.

In a video shared on TikTok, Burch said that the footage had her concerned — not simply about the future of the game franchise or her own career, but for her profession as a whole.

"I feel worried about this art form — game performance as an art form," Burch said in the video, which she also shared on her Instagram.

@ashly.burch

let us speak on AI aloy

♬ original sound - Ashly Burch

The footage, which was leaked online by an anonymous source but has now been taken down via copyright strike, originated as an internal presentation from Sony's PlayStation Studios. Using an approximation of Burch's voice, the AI-puppeted Aloy is shown stiffly answering a variety of questions asked out loud by the presenter, in a pretty far cry from the vivacious personality that fans of the game series have come to adore.

Burch said that Guerilla Games, the developers of "Horizon," claimed that the demo "didn't reflect anything that was actively in development." And no performance capture was involved, the studio further claimed, so Burch's voice or facial data wasn't used.

Nonetheless, it's an upsetting spectacle. Burch reiterated that voice actors like herself are currently on strike, largely because of the AI tech evidenced here. Performers are asking for protection, Burch said, "because we know that game companies want to use it."

Led by SAG-AFTRA, the strike has been in effect against the game industry since July 2024, and was initiated in the wake of the labor union's strike against the film industry in the preceding year, which won limited AI protections.

"What we're fighting for is that you have to get our consent before you make an AI version of us in any form," Burch said in the video. "You have to compensate us fairly and you have to tell us how you're using this AI double."

Given that there's an ongoing strike, the timing of the tech demo is extremely tone-deaf — if not a cynical warning to performers.

"The technology isn't the problem," Burch said. "The problem is we're currently on strike, and the bargaining group will not agree to give us common sense protections."

"If we lose this fight," she added, there'd be "no recourse" for a performer who has their likeness stolen by AI.

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