[US] OpenAI pauses chatbot voice after objection from Scarlett Johannson

In the US, the actress Scarlett Johansson has accused OpenAI of creating a voice for the ChatGPT system that sounded "eerily similar" to her own following her refusal to voice the chatbot herself, Yahoo reports.

Ms Johansson made her comments in a May 20 note released hours after the AI company announced that it was taking down the voice, dubbed 'Sky.'

In a statement emailed to Reuters, Sam Altman - OpenAI CEO - reportedly said that Sky's voice was not an imitation of Ms Johansson, it belonged to another professional actress.

"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," Mr Altman said.

"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 fight for rights to actors' voices and images is ongoing in Hollywood as studios explore the use of AI to create new entertainment and as computer-generated images and sounds grow increasingly difficult to distinguish from those of humans.

In her statement, Ms Johansson said Mr Altman had approached her in September and offered to hire her to voice a ChatGPT. She reportedly 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.

"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."

Ms Johansson stated Mr Altman had "insinuated that the similarity was intentional" by tweeting a reference to "her," the 2013 movie about a man who develops a relationship with his AI operating system. The OS in “her” was voiced by the actress.

Ms Johansson's comments were published by journalists from NPR and other news outlets and her publicist shared the note with Reuters.

Following Ms Johansson's statement, OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The actress and singer reportedly said she had hired legal counsel to make enquiries into the voice creation process.

Source: Yahoo via Reuters

(Quotes via original reporting)

In the US, the actress Scarlett Johansson has accused OpenAI of creating a voice for the ChatGPT system that sounded "eerily similar" to her own following her refusal to voice the chatbot herself, Yahoo reports.

Ms Johansson made her comments in a May 20 note released hours after the AI company announced that it was taking down the voice, dubbed 'Sky.'

In a statement emailed to Reuters, Sam Altman - OpenAI CEO - reportedly said that Sky's voice was not an imitation of Ms Johansson, it belonged to another professional actress.

"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," Mr Altman said.

"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 fight for rights to actors' voices and images is ongoing in Hollywood as studios explore the use of AI to create new entertainment and as computer-generated images and sounds grow increasingly difficult to distinguish from those of humans.

In her statement, Ms Johansson said Mr Altman had approached her in September and offered to hire her to voice a ChatGPT. She reportedly 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.

"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."

Ms Johansson stated Mr Altman had "insinuated that the similarity was intentional" by tweeting a reference to "her," the 2013 movie about a man who develops a relationship with his AI operating system. The OS in “her” was voiced by the actress.

Ms Johansson's comments were published by journalists from NPR and other news outlets and her publicist shared the note with Reuters.

Following Ms Johansson's statement, OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The actress and singer reportedly said she had hired legal counsel to make enquiries into the voice creation process.

Source: Yahoo via Reuters

(Quotes via original reporting)