Hollywood superstar Scarlett Johansson criticised OpenAI over a ChatGPT AI voice that she claims is “eerily similar” to hers. The actor was “forced to hire legal counsel” to get the voice removed from ChatGPT, after she had earlier refused requests from the company to use her voice. Following this, the company has taken down the voice called Sky, stating that they did it “Out of respect for Ms Johansson”.
Here is everything to know about the controversy that is reminding everyone about Silicon Valley’s bad old days and making Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI nervous as he now faces off against a formidable personality like Scarlett Johansson, in what could turn out to be a major lawsuit.
1. What did Scarlett Johansson accuse OpenAI of?
In a personal claim, Scarlett Johansson has stated that OpenAI initially approached her to use her voice in their project. However, after careful consideration, she declined the offer to voice the chatbot herself at the time. “Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system,” Johansson said in a statement.
On May 20, the actor accused the tech company of using a voice that was strikingly similar to hers. “Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named ‘Sky’ sounded like me,” she added.
2. Sam Altman on Scarlett Johansson’s claim
“The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers. We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms Johansson,” OpenAI’s CEO Sam has said.
3. Scarlett Johansson’s legal threat
“As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr Altman and OpenAI, setting out what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the ‘Sky’ voice. Consequently, OpenAl reluctantly agreed to take down the ‘Sky voice,” Scarlett Johansson said in a statement. Sky has now been replaced with another voice called Juniper.
4. Sam Altman on why OpenAI took down Sky
“Out of respect for Ms Johansson, we have paused using Sky’s voice in our products. We are sorry to Ms Johansson that we didn’t communicate better,” Sam Altman has said.
5. Scarlett Johansson on era of deepfakes and AI
In her statement, the actor also said, “In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes 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.”
