Scarlett Johansson on Monday accused OpenAI of creating a voice for its ChatGPT system that sounded “eerily similar” to hers after she declined an offer to voice the chatbot herself. Johansson's statement came hours after OpenAI announced it was pulling the voice, known as 'Sky', from its products.
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In a statement emailed to Reuters, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman clarified that the voice was not an imitation of Johansson. “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,” Altman said. He added, “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.”
The controversy highlights ongoing concerns in Hollywood regarding the use of artificial intelligence to replicate actors’ voices and images. As AI-generated media becomes increasingly indistinguishable from human performance, disputes over rights and likenesses have escalated.
Johansson revealed that Altman had approached her last September with an offer to voice a ChatGPT character, which she declined. “Nine months later, my friends, family, and the general public all noted how much the newest system named ‘Sky’ sounded like me,” she said in her statement. “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.”
Further fueling her outrage, Johansson claimed that Altman had “insinuated that the similarity was intentional” by tweeting a reference to “Her,” the 2013 film in which Johansson voiced an AI assistant.
Johansson’s statement, which was published by journalists from NPR and other media outlets, also mentioned that she had hired legal counsel to investigate the process used to create the Sky voice.
Last week, OpenAI unveiled its latest AI model, GPT-4o, which features advanced audio capabilities that enable users to have real-time spoken interactions with the chatbot. This development marks a significant leap towards more lifelike AI communication, but also underscores the potential ethical and legal challenges posed by such technologies.
As the entertainment industry grapples with the implications of AI, Johansson’s accusations underscore the need for clear guidelines and protections regarding the use of actors' likenesses in digital media.