205 AI Darth Vader Is an Interesting Idea That Blew Up In Fortnite’s Face

Fortnite's current Star Wars season is a blast, and a chance encounter with Darth Vader allows you to converse with him via voice chat. His responses are synthesized with AI, and the voice you hear is that of James Earl Jones, whose estate agreed to the AI cloning.

The idea of a video game NPC responding to your actions and talking to you with context (rather than canned responses) is an exciting prospect for the future of games. But in this case, there are two problems:

Players and streamers immediately figured out how to get Vader to drop F-bombs and say racial slurs. And while the voice was generated with permission, it comes at a time when actors unions like SAG-AFTRA are in active negotiations with video game companies about the use of AI and the future security of their jobs.

The result has been an uproar about the ethics, legality, and future of the medium.

Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/5xz84B9RRJ

Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ColetteAndMatt

Email us with what you're playing and we'll read it on the show! HaveEnteredTheChat@gmail.com

Follow and subscribe to Colette:

• https://bsky.app/profile/itscocobee.bsky.social
• https://www.twitch.tv/hellococobee

Follow and subscribe to Matt:

• https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social
• https://www.patreon.com/influencepod
• https://www.youtube.com/c/freedadvideos

Our theme music is by Azure Flux: https://azureflux.bandcamp.com/

Our logo is illustrated by @JustCallMeKatarina: https://www.instagram.com/justcallmekatarina/