ChatGPT voice ‘strangely similar to me’: Scarlett Johansson criticizes Sam Altman
Scarlett Johansson said she turned down OpenAI’s request to voice her chatbot GPT-4o and was “shocked” and “angry” when the company used a voice so similar to hers.
Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson (left) recently criticized OpenAI for its ChatGPT voice, which she said was “eerily similar” to her own. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (right) said Sky’s voice is not hers and it was never intended to sound like her. (AFP)
Says she refused the company’s request for her voice in ChatGPT 4o
The actor’s lawyer asked the company to remove the Sky voice
Actor Scarlett Johansson said on Monday (local time) that she refused Open AI’s request to provide her voice to the ChatGPT 4o chatbot, and said she was “shocked” and “angry” when This Artificial Intelligence company uses a voice that sounds “eerily similar”. ” to her.
Johansson, in a detailed statement, said that her lawyers asked the company to tone down Sky’s voice, one of the new voices in the GPT-4o chatbot.
“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 voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and innovators, and help consumers get comfortable with the seismic shift involving humans and AI that my voice will comfort people,” the actor’s statement provided to NPR said.
She clarified: “After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer.”
“Nine months later, my friends, family and the public all notice how much the newest system called ‘Sky’ sounds like me.”
She added in the statement: “When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angry, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice so uncannily similar to mine that my closest friends I and the media cannot tell the difference.”
Johansson added that she was “forced to hire a lawyer, who wrote two letters to Mr Altman and OpenAl”, asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the Sky voice and thus OpenAl” reluctantly agreed to remove it.” ‘Sky’ voice,” she said.
The actor said there are “questions that need absolute clarity”, adding: “I look forward to being addressed in a transparent manner and through appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protect.”
Meanwhile, the company said it is planning to discontinue one of its ChatGPT voices. In a social media post, OpenAI said it was “working to suspend” Sky.
“We’ve heard questions about how we select voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky. We’re working to pause the use of Sky while we address them,” the company wrote on X.
OpenAI released its latest GPT-4o language model a few days ago, which can converse in real time, adding emotions to speech on demand.
