“Shocked and angered”: Scarlett Johansson slams OpenAI over ChatGPT voice
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
TL;DR
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o demo featured an AI voice eerily much like Scarlett Johansson’s character in a 2013 film.
- The actor launched a press release right now expressing shock and anger over her likeliness within the voice.
- Johansson had obtained a suggestion from OpenAI to voice the AI assistant, which she declined.
OpenAI made information final week when it demonstrated its up to date ChatGPT-4o mannequin, which may speak, chortle, and react like a human. Nonetheless, many customers instantly observed that the mannequin reminded them of an *precise* human, Scarlett Johansson.
In a stunning flip of occasions, Scarlett Johansson has now publicly accused OpenAI of utilizing a voice eerily much like hers for one in all its ChatGPT-4o voices, “Sky.”
The difficulty started when final week’s ChatGPT demo used an AI voice that was shortly in comparison with Johansson’s function within the 2013 sci-fi movie Her, through which she voiced an AI private assistant. Including gasoline to the hearth, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted the phrase “Her” after the announcement of the brand new ChatGPT model.
OpenAI has since eliminated the “Sky” voice from the mannequin whereas stating that it had developed the AI voice from one other actress whose identification stays undisclosed for privateness causes. The corporate maintains that the voice is just not an imitation of Johansson however belongs to a unique skilled utilizing her pure talking voice.
Within the assertion launched right now (by way of NPR), Johansson expressed her shock and anger upon listening to the demo, stating that even her shut buddies and information shops couldn’t distinguish the AI voice from her personal.
Nonetheless, Johansson’s assertion reveals a deeper layer of the story. 9 months in the past, Altman allegedly supplied her the function of voicing the brand new ChatGPT voice assistant, however she declined resulting from private causes. Simply two days earlier than the revealing, Altman reached out once more, urging her to rethink, however the firm went forward with the launch earlier than any settlement could possibly be reached.
Consequently, Johansson has sought authorized counsel and despatched two letters to OpenAI demanding transparency relating to the event means of the “Sky” voice. It looks as if OpenAI’s takedown of the Sky voice may have been associated to those letters.
Johansson’s assertion highlights considerations over deepfakes and the safety of particular person likeness, work, and identification within the age of AI. This incident is popping into a serious chapter within the ongoing debate in regards to the moral implications of AI expertise.
