Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has accused artificial intelligence research lab OpenAI of replicating her voice for their new AI assistant, “Sky,” without her permission. Johansson’s allegations emerged following her refusal to lend her voice to the AI assistant, with OpenAI insisting that the voice actually belongs to a different actress.
The Marvel-fame actress voiced her shock and anger over the eerily similar voice used by OpenAI’s ChatGPT system, which she claims sounds remarkably like her own. She claims OpenAI CEO Sam Altman initially approached her to be the voice of ChatGPT 4.0, but she declined the offer for personal reasons. However, despite her refusal, she was taken aback to find that the newly introduced ‘Sky’ voice bore an uncanny resemblance to her own, prompting her to seek legal counsel.
Johansson expressed her disbelief, highlighting that even close friends and media outlets could not distinguish the voices. She further claimed Altman hinted at the similarity by tweeting “Her,” a reference to the 2013 sci-fi film where she voiced an AI assistant.
Altman and OpenAI denied any intentional resemblance to Johansson’s voice, asserting that the voice actor behind ‘Sky’ was chosen before any outreach to the actress. Nevertheless, the company has paused using Sky “out of respect” for Johansson and to address concerns about voice selection.
We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky. We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them.
Read more about how we chose these voices: https://t.co/R8wwZjU36L
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 20, 2024
Scarlett Johansson’s legal team has contacted OpenAI to understand how the voice was created. Meanwhile, this incident again raises critical questions about AI development and the need for legal frameworks protecting creators’ rights in the digital age.
The incident has further sparked discussions about the ethical implications of AI voice impersonation and the need for robust legal protections. Johansson’s stance has reportedly garnered support from industry professionals, including the influential union SAG-AFTRA, which advocates for the protection of actors’ voices and likenesses.
