The Mexican Chamber of Deputies approved the Federal Law of Cinema and the Audiovisual in late March, introducing a strict ban on the use of artificial intelligence for dubbing projects. Article 29 of the new legislation mandates that all dubbing work in the country must be performed by natural persons.
The National Association of Actors of Mexico (ANDA) championed the move, noting that it protects the livelihoods of approximately 10,000 professional actors and their families. The industry currently supports 43 specialized dubbing studios across the country.
The cost of human performance
Streaming platforms have increasingly turned to AI to reduce production expenses, which can be significant for global distribution. According to data from the AI dubbing firm Speeek.io, human-led dubbing costs between $50 and $300 per minute and requires weeks or months of work. In contrast, AI tools can complete the same tasks for as little as $0.50 to $10 in just a few hours.
These cost-saving measures have faced pushback from both professionals and audiences. Prime Video, for example, withdrew a pilot program for AI-assisted dubbing last year after viewers criticized the quality of the output. Despite these technical limitations, the threat to human labor remains substantial. A report from the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers estimates that AI implementation could cause a 28% decline in actor income by 2028.
Aurora Mijangos, an actress and director who leads the movement to regulate AI in the industry, welcomed the new law as a necessary victory. However, she noted that significant gaps remain in the legislation. "We are happy with this article because it is a step to protect the work, but there are still relevant issues missing, like payments and the use of our voices with AI without our permission," Mijangos said.
Labor disputes regarding AI are not confined to Mexico. Earlier this year, German voice actors organized a boycott against Netflix over contractual clauses that allowed the platform to use voice recordings to train AI models. While Netflix characterized the dispute as a "misunderstanding," the company reportedly threatened to provide only subtitles for German audiences if the boycott persisted.
Mexico now faces the challenge of staying competitive in a regional market where other nations have yet to implement similar restrictions. Countries like Brazil and Argentina continue to see rapid AI adoption in their creative sectors, potentially creating a disparity in production costs compared to Mexico. To mitigate this risk, the Mexican government is exploring potential incentives to encourage streaming platforms to continue producing content within the country despite the new regulatory landscape.
