Scarlet Johansson, the Black Widow star, calls out OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for allegedly using a voice in its artificial intelligence software that she believes sounds like her own without her consent. She says in a statement her on May 20 that, according to Johansson, the businessman sent her an offer in September to hire her as the voice of the Chat GPT 4.0 system, but she turned it down. She says, He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people. After much consideration and for personal reasons, declined the offer.
Johansson Accuses Company
However, Johansson accuses the company of going ahead with it by using a voice that sounded like me without her consent on their new system called Sky, even saying that her friends, family, and the general public all noted similarities. When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine, the 39-year-old continues. Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word: ‘Her,’ a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human. Altman tweeted the word on May 13th.
Johansson Accuses Altman of Preemptive Release
In her statement, Johansson further alleges that Altman contacted her agent four days before the demo dropped, asking her to reconsider the offer. She shares, Before we could connect, the system was out there. As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel. Johansson’s lawyers wrote two letters to Altman and OpenAI, according to the Oscar nominee, who added that the company reluctantly agreed to take down the Sky voice. She concludes, In a time where we are all grappling with deep fakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity. I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected.
OpenAI Responds to Sky Voice Concerns
OpenAI addresses concerns over the Sky Voice on May 19th, tweeting, We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in Chat GPT, especially Sky. We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them. The organization also denies that the audio intentionally replicated Johansson’s voice. Their May 19th statement reads, We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice. Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice to protect their privacy.
