Actress Scarlett Johansson was “shocked” and “indignant” after listening to ChatGPT’s “Sky” voice, which some in comparison with her personal. Johnson is finest identified for voicing the fictional digital assistant within the 2013 movie she.
In a press release launched Monday and obtained by NBC Information, Johnson believed the comparability was acceptable and stated Sky’s voice was “eerily related” to hers.
Crucially, she added, she was approached by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to voice Sky final September, a proposal she turned down.
“He informed me he felt that by me being a voice for the system, I may bridge the hole between tech firms and creatives and assist customers really feel snug with the massive adjustments which can be occurring to people and synthetic intelligence,” Johnson stated. “He stated he felt my voice would consolation individuals.”
Previous to Johnson’s assertion, Open AI had this to say in a publish on Sunday: “We imagine that AI voices mustn’t intentionally imitate the distinctive voices of celebrities – Sky’s voice will not be modeled after Scarlett Johansson, however The actress belonging to a distinct occupation makes use of her personal pure voice.
Nonetheless, OpenAI introduced the identical day that it could cease utilizing Sky in its ChatGPT product till lingering questions on its origins are resolved.
“We have heard points concerning how voices are chosen in ChatGPT, particularly Sky,” the corporate wrote in a publish on X Sunday. OpenAI is “working to droop the usage of Sky” whereas it resolves these points.
OpenAI drops ChatGPT’s ‘Sky’ voice after Scarlett Johansson in comparison with ‘her’
“After I heard the demo launched, I used to be shocked, indignant and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so much like mine that even my closest mates and the information media couldn’t inform the distinction,” ” Johnson stated within the assertion.
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Sky Voice has been round since OpenAI first launched the voice mode in September 2023, as one in all 5 choices alongside “Breeze”, “Cove”, “Ember” and “Juniper”. However OpenAI’s announcement of GPT-4o brings these speech capabilities instantly into the mannequin, utilizing Sky completely to focus the give attention to that particular speech.
Throughout a dwell demo of GPT-4o final week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman talked about comparisons to Scarlett Johansson. He posted the phrase “she” on X.
Johnson stated in a press release that Altman had contacted her agent two days earlier than the demo was launched, urging her to rethink his provide. She stated they’d by no means related earlier than the system was launched, so she employed authorized counsel.
Johnson claimed that OpenAI “reluctantly” agreed to droop Sky’s voice after her legal professionals requested for particulars about how Sky was created.
“As all of us grapple with the problem of deepfakes and defend our personal likenesses, our personal work, our personal identities, I imagine these points deserve absolute readability,” Johnson stated. “I stay up for addressing them with transparency, and passing acceptable laws to assist make sure that particular person rights are protected.”
In response to NBC Information’ request for remark, Altman stated Skye’s voice was not Johnson’s and was “by no means supposed to be much like hers.”
“We chosen Sky’s voice actors earlier than contacting Ms. Johnson,” Altman stated. “Out of respect for Ms. Johnson, we now have suspended the usage of Sky voices in our merchandise. We apologize to Ms. Johnson for not speaking higher.”
Cecily Moran contributed to this story.
Up to date: Might. 21/21/2024 2:56 pm (AEST) This text has been up to date with feedback from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to NBC Information.
