OpenAI has been forced to suspend its new ChatGPT voice, Sky, following claims it was mimicking Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson in 2013's Her (when this sort of thing was science fiction rather than science fact).
Johansson serving as inspiration for the system was obvious after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman simply posted "her" on X when Sky launched. He's also shared his love of Her in previous interviews, but a scathing statement from the actress herself has left the company likely fearing a lawsuit.
She's confirmed that OpenAi first approached her last September about officially becoming the voice for ChatGPT 4.0. Ultimately, Johansson declined the offer, only to once again hear from the company two days before Sky went live.
As the actress explains, she and Altman didn't get a chance to discuss the matter, forcing The Avengers star to get lawyers involved (which pushed OpenAI to "reluctantly" remove the apparent soundalike) when she was made aware of the similarities.
Here is Johansson's statement in full:
Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system. He told me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers to feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and AI. He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people.
After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer. Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named ‘Sky’ sounded like me.
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. Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word ‘her’ – a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human.
Two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released, Mr. Altman contacted my agent, asking me to reconsider. Before we could connect, the system was out there.
As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAI, setting out what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the ‘Sky’ voice. Consequently, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to take down the “Sky” voice.
In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity. I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected.
For what it's worth, OpenAI has said, "We support the creative community and worked closely with the voice acting industry to ensure we took the right steps to cast ChatGPT’s voices. Each actor receives compensation above top-of-market rates, and this will continue for as long as their voices are used in our products."
"We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinctive voice - Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice," the statement continues. "To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents."
You can see what you make of the Johansson soundalike in the video below...