OpenAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) consortium responsible for ChatGPT, removed the word “Sky” from the list of available sounds in its product on Monday. The decision came due to the threat of legal action by American actress Scarlett Johansson, who publicly accused the company of using an imitation of her voice after failing to obtain her consent.
In a statement reported by the North American press, Johansson revealed that she received “an offer from Sam Altman,” CEO of OpenAI, in September 2023, to hire her “to voice the existing ChatGPT system.”
“He told me he felt that by lending my voice to the system, I could bridge the gap between technology companies and creators, and help consumers feel comfortable about the seismic shifts around humans and AI. He said my voice would be comforting,” the actress says. Lost in translation, A meeting point that it Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
“After much thought and for personal reasons, I declined the offer,” says Scarlett Johansson. “After nine months, my friends, family and the general public noticed how similar the new system called ‘Sky’ was to my condition,” says the 39-year-old actress, who also has Danish citizenship.
“Sky” was one of five voices, both female and male, that OpenAI made available to interact with ChatGPT, turning the AI tool into a chatbot similar to virtual assistants like Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa.
The similarities between “Sky”'s voice and Scarlett Johansson's were quickly noticed on social media, most notably implied by Sam Altman, Which alluded to the movie Ha On X (formerly Twitter)Specifically on the launch day of ChatGPT-4o, the latest artificial intelligence model, last week. in For her – a love story (2003), written by Spike Jonze, Johansson voices the artificial intelligence program with which the protagonist falls in love.
“When I heard the demo, I was shocked and angry, and I couldn't believe that Mr. Altman could use a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my close friends and the media couldn't tell them apart.” He added in the statement, also referring to the OpenAI CEO mentioning the film Ha On social networks.
The actress also revealed that two days before introducing ChatGPT-4o, Altman contacted her agent to reconsider the OpenAI proposal. “Before we could connect, the system was leaked.”
Johansson points to ChatGPT-4o, which was introduced in the May 13 presentation It was actually the voice of “Sky” that played the biggest role. The sound, like the other four, has been available since September 2023 in previous versions of the service, when the similarity to Johansson's timbre was made. I have already noticed. However, it was the new model and its public presentation that made it more widely known. Furthermore, ChatGPT-4o brought greater emotion and interactivity to the voices. In the case of “Sky,” last week’s show depicts a seductive character that bears a lot of resemblance to the hypothetical actress V Ha.
Johansson claims his legal team has now demanded that OpenAI explain the process of creating the “Sky” sound. “Consequently, OpenAI has reluctantly agreed to disable Sky Audio,” the actress’ statement read.
“At a time when we're all dealing with it Deep fakes While protecting our image, our work and our identity, I believe these issues deserve absolute clarity. “I hope that a solution will be found in the form of transparency and appropriate legislation that ensures the protection of individual rights,” says Scarlett Johansson.
This Monday, hours before the American actress revealed the issue publicly, the audio was no longer available on ChatGPT.
“We've heard questions about how we choose ChatGPT voices, especially Sky. We're suspending use of Sky while we address these concerns,” OpenAI announced on the X social network.
On Sunday, OpenAI published Statement on your website Which now seems to directly respond to the doubts raised by the actress: “We believe that AI voices should not intentionally imitate the voice of celebrities – the voice of “Sky” is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson and belongs to a different professional actress. In using your natural voice to protect your privacy, we cannot disclose About the names of our artists.
OpenAI denies imitating or using Scarlett Johansson's voice, saying: “Each of the five distinct voices heard was carefully selected through an extensive five-month process involving professional voice actors, talent agencies and film directors. Pour And consultants in the region.” More than 400 professionals will be evaluated, and the five selected will have registered their votes in San Francisco, in June and July 2023. The company also says that “each representative was paid above market values.”
The incident was revealed a week after the public demonstration of ChatGPT-4o, an artificial intelligence model capable of communicating verbally with the user and recognizing information visually. The next day, it was Google's turn to present its new model of artificial intelligence, with features similar to OpenAI, associated with its rival Microsoft.
Shirley Farmer is a contributor to Brytfmonline.com, covering a wide range of topics including news, politics, business, technology, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle. She focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting that helps readers stay informed about current events and emerging developments. With an emphasis on accuracy, relevance, and accessibility, Shirley writes stories that provide useful information and meaningful context, making complex topics easier to understand for a broad audience.