Scarlett Johansson slams tech giant's AI update
Scarlett Johansson has issued a furious public statement, claiming that tech giant OpenAI used a voice that is “eerily similar” to hers in the latest version of ChatGPT.
In the statement published by NPR, the actress claimed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached her last year asking if she would be interested in voicing their new AI voice assistant.
After further consideration and "for personal reasons" she rejected the offer.
She claimed that Altman then reached out to her agent again just days before the AI voice assistant was released, but before she had a chance to respond, the voice "Sky" was released.
“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 that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” she said in the statement.
She also said that the similarity seemed intentional, as Altman tweeted the word "her" upon Sky's release, which is the same name as a 2013 movie she was in where she voiced a chat system.
“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,” the actress said in her statement.
“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 announced that it had paused the use of the “Sky” voice on Sunday, and insisted that it wasn't Johansson's voice, but another actress.
“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,” the company wrote.
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