Scarlett Johansson has voiced her shock and anger after discovering that OpenAI launched a chatbot with a voice eerily similar to her own. Johansson revealed that she had previously declined an offer from the company to voice its new chatbot, which reads text aloud to users, highlighting a significant development in the AI news landscape.
The controversy erupted when the new model debuted last week, and commentators quickly noticed the similarities between the chatbot’s “Sky” voice and Johansson’s voice in the 2013 film Her. This incident has become a hot topic in artificial intelligence discussions. OpenAI responded on Monday by announcing that it would remove the voice, insisting it was not intended to imitate the actress, a significant move in AI news.
However, Johansson accused OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman, of deliberately copying her voice. In a statement seen by the BBC, she expressed her disbelief: “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.” She also noted that Altman seemed to suggest the similarity was intentional by tweeting a single word, “her,” a clear reference to the film where she voiced the AI system, Samantha, a noteworthy detail in artificial intelligence circles.
The 2013 film Her depicts Joaquin Phoenix’s character falling in love with his device’s operating system, which Johansson voices. The similarities between her character’s voice and the new chatbot’s voice did not go unnoticed by media and the public, making it a notable AI news event.
In response to the backlash, OpenAI removed the heavily promoted voice option from ChatGPT. The company explained that the voice, named “Sky,” was showcased during its recent event to demonstrate the new capabilities of ChatGPT-4o. Researchers used Sky to highlight the chatbot’s personable and responsive traits, but comparisons to Johansson’s AI companion in Her quickly surfaced, adding fuel to the ongoing artificial intelligence debate.
Even Sam Altman seemed to acknowledge the resemblance, posting a one-word tweet, “her,” after the presentation. Despite this, OpenAI later clarified that Sky’s voice was not based on Johansson. In a blog post, the company stated, “Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice. To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents,” an important clarification in AI news.
Johansson also shared that Altman initially approached her, suggesting that her voice could help bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives, making consumers more comfortable with AI, a significant point in the artificial intelligence community. Altman reached out again just two days before Sky’s release, asking her to reconsider. Johansson’s lawyers subsequently contacted OpenAI to request the voice’s removal, a notable development in AI news.
While some commentators, including Johansson’s husband Colin Jost, noted Sky’s similarity to her voice, others questioned the choice of such a fawning and gendered voice. OpenAI explained that it selected the voice based on criteria like a “timeless” quality and trustworthiness, after reviewing hundreds of submissions and conducting recording sessions in San Francisco, a process of interest in the artificial intelligence field.
The decision to pull Sky’s voice came amid broader controversies at OpenAI, including the resignation of key safety team members. Critics, like former researcher Jan Leike, accused the company of prioritizing “shiny products” over safety. OpenAI defended its practices, asserting that it would not release products with safety concerns, a crucial point in AI news.
OpenAI’s blog post also highlighted its collaboration with entertainment industry professionals and compensation for voice actors, as the company faces pushback and lawsuits from entertainers and media companies over copyright violations and concerns about AI replacing human workers. Major entertainment unions, such as Sag-Aftra, have even gone on strike over issues related to the use of their likenesses by AI, an ongoing issue in artificial intelligence discussions.