In a surprising turn of events, Hollywood superstar Scarlett Johansson has voiced her shock and anger after OpenAI launched a chatbot with a voice strikingly similar to hers. Johansson revealed she had previously turned down an offer from OpenAI to voice this new chatbot, which reads text aloud to users.
The chatbot, named Sky, made its debut last week, and many were quick to notice the uncanny resemblance between its tone and Johansson's voice in the 2013 film "Her." Following the backlash, OpenAI announced it would remove the voice, asserting that it was not intended to mimic Johansson.
However, Johansson accused OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman, of intentionally copying her voice. In a statement to the BBC, she 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 pointed out that Altman had even tweeted the word "her," directly referencing the film in which she voiced an AI system named Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human. She also disclosed that Altman had approached her back in September, suggesting her voice could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives, and make users more comfortable with AI technology.
Despite Altman's persuasive pitch, Johansson declined the offer for personal reasons. Just two days before the chatbot's release, Altman reached out to her agent, urging her to reconsider her decision.
Johansson has since hired lawyers and sent legal notices to OpenAI to uncover how the voice was created. She emphasized the importance of addressing these issues in an era where deepfakes and identity protection are major concerns. “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,” she wrote.
Responding to the controversy, Altman stated, “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. 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.”
OpenAI also announced on X (formerly Twitter) that they are "working to pause" the voice while addressing questions about its selection process. They clarified in a blog post that the five voices used by their chatbot were sampled from voice actors with whom they had partnered.
This incident adds to the growing list of legal challenges facing OpenAI. In December, the New York Times announced plans to sue the company, alleging it used "millions" of their articles to train its ChatGPT AI model. Similarly, authors George R. R. Martin and John Grisham revealed their intention to pursue a claim over alleged copyright infringements to train the system.
As AI technology continues to advance, the intersection of creativity, personal identity, and ethical boundaries remains a hotbed of debate, with Johansson's case highlighting the ongoing challenges and complexities.
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