Scarlett Johansson is deeply distressed by the striking resemblance of the voice used in OpenAI’s app to her own. This isn't Johansson's first clash with AI; in 2018, she voiced concerns over the rampant use of her likeness in deepfakes, criticizing the internet's lack of regulations. Johansson's current issue arose after OpenAI's live demo for GPT-4o, which showcased a voice nearly indistinguishable from hers. Despite OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's previous offer to Johansson to voice the system—an offer she declined—Sky's voice still closely mimicked hers, much to her dismay. Johansson expressed her shock and anger at this similarity, while Altman countered that the resemblance was unintentional and that the voice actor for Sky was chosen independently of their approach to Johansson. In response to the controversy, OpenAI has temporarily halted the use of Sky's voice.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 Scarlett Johansson is incredibly upset over the voice used for OpenAI's app, named Sky,
00:06 as it is almost indistinguishable from her own.
00:09 Scarlett Johansson is no stranger to being taken advantage of by AI, unfortunately.
00:14 The actress spoke out against the dangers of the internet and AI after deep fakes of
00:19 the star were circulated online in 2018, saying, "Nothing can stop someone from cutting and
00:24 pasting my image or anyone else's onto a different body and making it look as eerily
00:29 realistic as desired.
00:31 There are basically no rules on the internet because it is an abyss that remains virtually
00:35 lawless."
00:36 And it seems Johansson's AI troubles are far from over.
00:41 After a live demo for GPT 4.0, Johansson is now accusing OpenAI of creating a voice eerily
00:47 similar to hers.
00:48 "Hey, chat GPT.
00:50 I'm Mark.
00:51 How are you?"
00:52 "Oh Mark, I'm doing great.
00:55 Thanks for asking.
00:56 How about you?"
00:57 The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, even referenced the 2013 sci-fi film, in which Johansson voices
01:03 the AI the main character falls in love with by tweeting the name of the film, "Her."
01:09 In an official statement, Johansson wrote, "Last September, I received an offer from
01:13 Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current chat GPT 4.0 system."
01:18 Johansson declined the offer for personal reasons and went on to state, "Nine months
01:22 later, my friends, family, and the general public all noted how much the newest system
01:27 named Sky sounded like me.
01:29 When I heard the release demo, I was shocked, angered, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman
01:34 would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and
01:38 news outlets could not tell the difference."
01:41 Altman responded to the growing controversy in a statement released Monday morning, sharing,
01:45 "The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson's, and it was never intended to resemble hers.
01:51 We cast the voice actor behind Sky's voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson.
01:56 Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky's voice in our products."