Scarlett Johansson said that she was shocked, angered and in disbelief after OpenAI launched an artificial intelligence personal assistant voice which was very similar to her own voice. Hours after Sam Altman said it was taking down the voice it had dubbed as Sky, Scarlett’s statement was released.
i try not to think about competitors too much, but i cannot stop thinking about the aesthetic difference between openai and google pic.twitter.com/hRFYhzm5K8
— Sam Altman (@sama) May 16, 2024
Last week OpenAI unveiled a new version of its flagship ChatGPT chatbot, that can receive and respond to voice commands, images and videos. Few people compared the chatbot’s tone with that of Scarlett in a 2013’s film ‘Her’. The movie was directed by Spike Jonze, and it was about a man that develops a close relationship with an advanced piece of software. The operating system takes the persona of a female and addresses herself as Samantha. Scarlett Johansson was the voice of Samantha.
Other than Sky the other voices debuted by OpenAI are dubbed- Breeze, Ember, Cove and Juniper. As per the NPR, US media outlet, Scarlett’s legal team has sent OpenAI two letters asking the company how it has developed the voice of Sky.
Johansson said that nine months prior, Altman had approached her to allow her voice to be licensed for the new ChatGPT voice assistant. However, she declined the offer. The actor said that just two days before the new ChatGPT was presented, Altman had reached out to her for reconsidering, but before she could connect with him, the company announced its new product with a voice that appears to have copied her likeness.
After this Scarlett expressed shock and disbelief. Following this the tech company said, “Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different Professional actress using her own natural speaking voice.”
Scarlett Johansson released a statement regarding the OpenAI situation pic.twitter.com/VuSQhkouVt
— Best of Scarlett Johansson (@BestfScarlett) May 20, 2024
Altman also expressed his apology to Ms. Johansson for not communicating better.
Author: Sangi Roy
Student of mass communication with a deep passion for print media and reading. My hobbies include traveling, exploring ancient history, and visiting museums.
