OpenAI pulls ChatGPT voice after actress Scarlett Johansson threatened legal action

OpenAI has “paused” its new ChatGPT voice feature after actress Scarlett Johansson threatened legal action, claiming the voice option, dubbed “Sky,” sounds “eerily similar” to her own. Johansson alleged that OpenAI used her voice without permission after she declined to license it to the company back in September.

This news comes just a week after OpenAI introduced its latest artificial intelligence model, GPT-4o, which includes an audio-interacting persona named “Sky.”

OpenAI denied that “Sky” was designed to mimic Johansson, stating that professional voice actors were used. However, the company said it has suspended the use of “Sky” amidst the controversy. Many users have noted the striking similarity between “Sky” and Johansson’s voice, sparking broader discussions about the ethical implications and regulatory needs of AI-generated voice likenesses.

Johansson revealed that OpenAI initially approached her to lend her voice to their new AI system, which she declined. In May, CEO Sam Altman reached out again, asking her to reconsider. Before Johansson could respond, OpenAI released a demo featuring “Sky,” which many observed bears a striking resemblance to Johansson’s portrayal of an AI assistant in the 2013 film “her.”

This incident underscores the growing concerns over the use of artificial intelligence in creating voice replicas and the potential need for stricter regulations to govern such technology.

“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,” she wrote, adding: “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.”

On Monday, Johansson revealed that she had previously rejected a request from OpenAI to use her voice for their system. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman clarified that the voice actually belonged to a different professional actress and announced that the company would be removing Sky’s voice from its products.

Below is the official statement released by Johansson that detailed OpenAI’s alleged illegal usage of her voice.

https://twitter.com/BenjaminDEKR/status/1792693868497871086