Patcay.com – Scarlett Johansson has found herself in an unexpected clash with OpenAI. The acclaimed actress claims that despite declining an offer to voice ChatGPT, the company went ahead and created a voice that strikingly resembles hers.
In a statement to NPR, Johansson revealed that she has hired legal counsel and sent multiple letters to OpenAI demanding an explanation for the creation of the ChatGPT voice assistant, Sky.
“Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman to lend my voice to the ChatGPT 4.0 system,” Johansson shared. Even after she refused, Altman, CEO of OpenAI, reportedly made repeated attempts, as recently as two days before the system’s voice demo, to persuade her to reconsider.
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Altman has publicly expressed admiration for Johansson’s work, particularly her role as an AI voice assistant in the film “Her,” which he has cited as his favorite movie. Following a recent ChatGPT event, Altman posted the word “her” on social media, seemingly alluding to the voice demo, which sounded uncannily like Johansson.
OpenAI maintains that the voice of Sky was never intended to mimic Johansson’s. “The voice actor for Sky was chosen before any outreach to Ms. Johansson,” the company stated. “Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky’s voice in our products. We apologize for any miscommunication.”
Early Monday, OpenAI announced the removal of Sky’s voice to address concerns about their voice selection process.
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Johansson expressed shock and anger over the eerie similarity of Sky’s voice to her own. OpenAI insisted that Sky’s voice is from an actor using their natural speaking voice, though the company declined to reveal the actor’s identity for privacy reasons.
Sky’s voice has been a feature of ChatGPT since its voice mode launch last September, but the resemblance to Johansson became more apparent after an update to the AI model last week, which enhanced the voice’s expressiveness. This resemblance drew widespread attention, leading to headlines and even a parody on Saturday Night Live.
For now, Johansson seeks transparency from OpenAI. She is asking for a detailed explanation of the process used to create Sky’s voice. OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati has stated that Sky’s voice was not designed to imitate Johansson. Meanwhile, Joanne Jang, model behavior lead at OpenAI, confirmed that the company is in discussions with Johansson’s representatives to address their concerns.
