(DCWatchdog.com) – Following her shock and anger after listening to OpenAI’s new AI assistant, Scarlett Johansson won the legal battle that forced the company to suspend its ChatGPT narrator, who sounded disturbingly similar to her.
Despite rejecting OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s previous offer to voice an AI, she was stunned by the likeness of the “Sky” voice used in the ChatGPT 4.0 demo.
“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,” Johansson expressed in a strong statement.
OpenAI had promoted “Sky” at an event, sparking immediate reactions due to its resemblance to Johansson’s voice from the movie Her.
This prompted Johansson to engage legal counsel to challenge the use of the “Sky” voice, which OpenAI then agreed to withdraw.
“In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity,” the actress said.
“I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected,” she added.
OpenAI clarified its stance, emphasizing that “Sky” was not intended to mimic Johansson. “We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice, the company wrote.
It continued, “Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice.”
The conversation around AI and deepfakes was not just limited to Hollywood. In recent months, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have been involved, highlighting concerns over AI’s potential misuse in elections and the personal security threats posed by deepfake technologies.
One incident involved a deepfake voice mimicking a Maryland school principal in a harmful recording, illustrating the technology’s darker applications.
Adding another layer to the controversy, Elon Musk has publicly criticized OpenAI, which he co-founded, for straying from its original mission towards profit maximization and potentially fostering an AI dystopia.
Simultaneously, The New York Times has taken legal action against OpenAI for copyright infringement, underscoring the growing tensions between AI advancements and ethical considerations.
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