Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has expressed shock and anger after OpenAI released a chatbot that she claims has a voice that is “eerily similar” to her own, according to a report by the BBC.
Johansson was reportedly taken aback and upset by this development. She stated that she had previously declined an offer from OpenAI to provide the voice for their new chatbot.
However, when the chatbot named “Sky” was released last week, many commentators noted that its tone and voice sounded remarkably similar to Johansson’s voice from her 2013 film “Her”.
While OpenAI has claimed they would remove the voice and insisted it was not meant to be an imitation, Johansson accused the company and its founder, Sam Altman, of deliberately copying her voice. In a statement obtained by the BBC, Johansson said, “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.”
Johansson revealed that she had been approached by Altman about voicing the new chatbot in September. “Mr. Altman told me that he felt my voicing the system could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and AI,” she wrote. She ultimately declined the offer for personal reasons.
Just two days before the Sky chatbot’s release, Altman contacted her agent, urging her to reconsider her refusal to cooperate with the project. Johansson stated that she has hired lawyers to address this issue and has sent two legal letters to the company, demanding clarity on how they created a voice that sounds so similar to hers.
In an era where deepfakes and the protection of one’s identity are major concerns, Johansson emphasized the need for complete transparency and clarity from OpenAI.
The company has yet to comment directly on this incident. However, on Monday, OpenAI stated, “We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice,” in a blog post. The company claims the five voices used were sampled from voice actors they had partnered with.
In response to the legal threats from Johansson, OpenAI announced they are working to pause the use of Sky while they address the concerns. “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,” the company said.
