Open AI takes down Scarlett Johansson-like voice

The Hollywood actress said she was “shocked” by the uncanny resemblance and sought legal counsel to protect her rights

High-tech company Open AI has suspended the use of one of its voices in Chat GPT bot after Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson complained it sounded “eerily similar” to the way she talks.

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Open AI said it had “heard questions” about the criteria for choosing the voices in Chat GPT, especially female Sky voice. “We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them,” it said.

The company also attempted to dispel the notion that voice that Sky uses is an imitation of Scarlett Johansson’s, stressing that “AI voices should not deliberately mimic” high-profile figures. It added that Sky had been recorded not by Johansson, but by a different professional actress.

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At the same time, Open AI CEO Sam Altman seemed to recognize the uncanny resemblance between the voice of Sky and that of Johansson, posting on X last week a single word – “her.” The message was an apparent reference to the 2013 sci-fi film of the same name, in which Johansson plays an AI assistant who becomes romantically involved with a human.

The actress, who has won numerous honors during her incredibly successful and lucrative Hollywood career, including a British Academy Film Award and a Tony Award, lashed out at the resemblance of Sky’s voice to her own.

In a statement cited by several media outlets, Johansson said she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” after she heard the demo of the voice, which she said tricked even her closest friends. The movie star recalled that Altman had previously contacted her about voicing an AI, a proposal she said she turned down.

According to Johansson, Altman had contacted her agent asking her to reconsider but, before any discussion could be renewed, Open AI had already rolled out the new voice.

The actress added that after she sought legal help to take down Sky, OpenAI “reluctantly” agreed to do so. She noted that “in a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness… I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity.” Johansson also stressed the need for “appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected.”

Released in late 2022, Chat GPT is an AI bot that can create a human-like conversational dialogue, answering various complex questions and composing written content.