'I feel worried': Horizon’s Ashly Burch speaks out on AI, warns of threat to game performance art

Ashly Burch, the award-winning voice behind Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy, has publicly voiced concerns over AI-generated game performances, following the leak of a Sony prototype that featured an AI-powered version of her character.

The video, originally shared with The Verge and later removed from YouTube by a copyright enforcement company linked to Sony PlayStation, was an internal experiment rather than a product in active development, according to Horizon developer Guerrilla Games. However, for Burch, the implications are alarming—not just for her career, but for the future of game performance as an art form.

“I feel worried. And not worried about Guerrilla specifically or Horizon or my performance or my career specifically, even. I feel worried about this art form. Game performance as an art form.”

Burch’s comments come at a pivotal time, with video game actors currently on strike under SAG-AFTRA—the very reason AI usage in gaming has become a flashpoint in industry negotiations.

“We are currently on strike. SAG-AFTRA is on strike against video games because of AI. Because this technology exists, because we know that game companies want to use it, we’re asking for protections.”

The demands of SAG-AFTRA’s video game division include:

    •    Mandatory consent from actors before creating AI versions of their performances.
    •    Fair compensation for any use of AI-generated performances.
    •    Transparency on how AI-generated versions of actors will be used.

Burch clarifies that she isn’t against technological advancements but worries about a future where actors lose their rights and have no recourse against AI-generated replacements. “I just imagine a video like this coming out that does have someone’s performance attached to it. That does have someone’s voice or face or movement. And the possibility that if we lose this fight, that person would have no recourse.”

While AI-generated characters and dialogue have long been a possibility, the leaked Sony experiment explicitly showcasing an AI-driven Aloy is precisely what striking video game actors fear, a future where studios circumvent hiring voice actors entirely.

Burch, who has worked on several major Sony franchises, including The Last of Us Part II and Spider-Man, took an unusual step in calling out the industry. While she insists she isn’t “putting any specific company on blast”, she urged for the urgent need for protections in a rapidly evolving landscape.

“The technology isn’t the problem. Game companies wanting to use the technology is not the problem. The problem is we’re currently on strike, and the bargaining group will not agree to give us common sense protections.”

Burch is widely recognised not just for her role as Aloy, but also as:

    •    Chloe Price in Life Is Strange
    •    Tiny Tina in the Borderlands series
    •    A recurring cast member in Critical Role
    •    A writer and performer on Apple TV+’s Mythic Quest

Her concerns reflect a larger debate on AI’s role in entertainment, with both Hollywood actors and game performers seeking safeguards as studios explore cost-cutting measures using AI.

With the SAG-AFTRA video game strike ongoing, Burch’s statements are a call to action for industry-wide protections before AI fundamentally alters the gaming and entertainment landscape. “I love this industry and this art form so much, and I want there to be a new generation of actors. I want there to be so many more incredible game performances.”