VOA慢速：演员担心人工智能会夺走他们的工作
Performers Worry Artificial Intelligence Will Take Their Jobs
刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
Leaders of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union say the group’s members are concerned that they will lose work because of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, tools.
The labor organization started talks with Hollywood movie studios about a new contract this week.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is the main person speaking with movie studios on behalf of the actors. He is SAG-AFTRA’s negotiator.
He said people who work in movies have their stock-in-trade, or their special qualities that make them different from another actor. He listed an actor’s name, voice, personality and likeness when describing those qualities. Crabtree-Ireland wants to be sure actors keep making money from their special qualities.
For example, the labor organization wants to prevent movie production companies from taking an actor’s image in one movie and using it to create a “digital double” for a new movie.
Crabtree-Ireland said it would not be fair to do that without paying extra.
Artificial intelligence tools have already been used to make “deepfakes” of well-known actors Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves. Reeves called the technology “scary.”
Deepfake is the term for real-looking, but untrue, video. AI can be used to make deepfakes.
AI tools have gained attention since the company OpenAI launched ChatGPT late last year.
The tools that can create sound and video are known as generative AI. They can take real video of a person and make it seem as if the person is saying words that they never said.
In Hollywood, the technology is being used to make actors look younger or to fix lip synch problems when a movie is dubbed into a different language.
Justine Bateman is a producer, writer and actor. She was on the successful television program Family Ties when she was young. Her brother is the well-known actor, Jason Bateman.
She has a computer science education and is concerned about how AI will change movies and television.
She said studios could take parts from her old show and make a new season.
While many actors are worried about AI, others can accept it.
Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones are two older actors who told moviemakers they could use AI. Ford will appear in Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny. He first played Indiana Jones in the 1980s. Now he is 80 years old.
In parts of the new movie, Ford appears as a young man. Instead of using a different actor, the moviemakers used AI to make Ford look young. They used images of his performance in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark.
James Earl Jones recently spoke with Vanity Fair magazine. He said he agreed to let the producers of Star Wars use AI to recreate his voice. Jones is 92 and provides the voice for Darth Vader. He said he wants Star Wars producers to use his voice even after he dies. It is not the first time Star Wars used AI. The company Disney used the technology to put Carrie Fisher into the 2019 film The Rise of Skywalker after she died.
The actors’ labor union wants to be sure anyone acting in a movie has a chance to say “yes” or “no” about using AI every time they accept a job.
If SAG-AFTRA cannot reach an agreement with the movie companies, it may join the Writers Guild, another labor group, in a strike. Both unions want protections in place before signing new contracts.
If the actors do not push for the protections, Bateman said, creativity and innovation might disappear from movies, television and music. She said everything made in the future is going to be based on work from the past.
“I don’t want to live in that world,” she said.
I’m Dan Friedell. And I’m Caty Weaver.
VOCABULARY
1. deepfake n. 深度伪造
2. synch n. 同步
3. dubbed sth. into sth: to replace the original speech in a film / movie or television program with words in another language 为（影片或电视节目）配音；译制。例如：an American movie dubbed into Italian用意大利语配音的美国影片
QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
1. What is the concern of members of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union regarding AI tools?
A) They will make actors look younger.
B) They will create “deepfakes” of actors.
C) They will replace actors in movies.
D) They will fix lip synch problems in dubbed movies.
2. Who is Duncan Crabtree-Ireland?
A) A Hollywood movie studio executive.
B) A negotiator for SAG-AFTRA.
C) An actor with a special voice.
D) A writer and producer.
3. What is a “digital double”?
A) A new movie that uses an actor’s image from an old movie.
B) A tool that can create sound and video using AI.
C) A term for real-looking, but untrue, video.
D) An AI-generated image of an actor.
4. What is the purpose of the actors’ labor union’s talks with Hollywood movie studios?
A) To discuss the use of AI tools in movies.
B) To reach a new contract agreement.
C) To prevent the making of deepfakes.
D) To make sure actors look young.
5. What is Justine Bateman’s concern about AI in movies and television?
A) That it will change the way movies and television are made.
B) That it will make actors look older.
C) That it will create deepfakes of actors.
D) That it will fix lip synch problems in dubbed movies.
KEY
1. What is the concern of members of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union regarding AI tools?
A) They will make actors look younger.
B) They will create “deepfakes” of actors.
C) They will replace actors in movies.
D) They will fix lip synch problems in dubbed movies.
【答案】C
【解析】这是一道细节题。文章中提到，SAG-AFTRA演员工会的成员担心他们会因为人工智能工具而失去工作。因此，答案是C选项。
2. Who is Duncan Crabtree-Ireland?
A) A Hollywood movie studio executive.
B) A negotiator for SAG-AFTRA.
C) An actor with a special voice.
D) A writer and producer.
【答案】B
【解析】这是一道细节题。文章中提到，Duncan Crabtree-Ireland是SAG-AFTRA的谈判代表。因此，答案是B选项。
3. What is a “digital double”?
A) A new movie that uses an actor’s image from an old movie.
B) A tool that can create sound and video using AI.
C) A term for real-looking, but untrue, video.
D) An AI-generated image of an actor.
【答案】D
【解析】这是一道细节题。文章中提到，劳工组织希望防止电影制作公司从一部电影中获取演员的形象，并用它来创建一个“数字替身”用于新电影。因此，答案是D选项。
4. What is the purpose of the actors’ labor union’s talks with Hollywood movie studios?
A) To discuss the use of AI tools in movies.
B) To reach a new contract agreement.
C) To prevent the making of deepfakes.
D) To make sure actors look young.
【答案】B
【解析】这是一道细节题。文章中提到，劳工组织开始与好莱坞电影公司进行新合同的谈判。因此，答案是B选项。
5. What is Justine Bateman’s concern about AI in movies and television?
A) That it will change the way movies and television are made.
B) That it will make actors look older.
C) That it will create deepfakes of actors.
D) That it will fix lip synch problems in dubbed movies.
【答案】A
【解析】这是一道推理题。文章中提到，Justine Bateman担心人工智能将改变电影和电视制作的方式。因此，答案是A选项。
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