7. Fortnite

Fortnite is one of the longest-running and most successful online games to date, and has caused controversy again this year. This had to do with the appearance of Star Wars character Darth Vader in the game. This tie-in that caused controversy due to the fact that Vader’s voice is generated using AI in the game. So what you say? It turns out that people found a way to make their Star Wars NPC companion (Vader could fight alongside players in the game) insult other players, say racist slurs and also disparage sexual minorities.

Aside from the controversy caused by Vader saying politically incorrect things in Fortnite, the Screen Actors Guild was miffed by the use of AI technology instead of hiring a voice actor to play the part, and took legal action. This is despite the fact that James Earl Jones himself (who provided Vader’s voice in the movies) helped train the AI to mimic his voice. The actors union still sought to “protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members”, making Fortnite one of the most controversial games of the year again.

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