Scarlett Johansson claims OpenAI intentionally copied her voice for chatbot

WASHINGTON (TND) — Actress Scarlett Johansson on Monday joined multitudes of voices on the internet criticizing the eerie semblance between her voice and the AI voice "Sky" that OpenAI recently pulled from ChatGPT.

The artificial intelligence developer released five voices -- Breeze, Cove, Ember, Juniper and Sky -- for its chatbot last week as part of an update that would allow them to read out text answers or engage entirely vocally with users.

However, OpenAI received a deluge of criticism over that week, with users and observers on social media pointing out the uncanny resemblance of Sky's voice to Scarlett Johansson, specifically in her portrayal of the AI operating system Samantha in the Spike Jonze film "Her." Internet sleuths further highlighted the possible intentional imitation after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted "her" during a live-streamed demonstration of Sky's capabilities with ChatGPT's voice features on Monday, May 13.

The company made an effort to defend itself against the allegations in a Sunday blog post, in which the authors explained the process by which OpenAI created the five voices.

Each of the five distinct voices you hear has been carefully selected through an extensive process spanning five months involving professional voice actors, talent agencies, casting directors, and industry advisors," the company explained.

Regarding the comparisons between Sky and Johansson, the company said the former's voice was constructed using another actor's natural speaking voice and was not a clone and that '"we believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinctive voice—Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice."

However, in a statement that was circulated on social media Monday evening, hours after OpenAI announced it was taking Sky out of ChatGPT, Johansson revealed not only that the company had approached her about becoming one of their voices, but she found the similarities so disquieting she began a legal inquiry into the company's actions.

She said she was approached by Altman in September 2023 to discuss lending her becoming the voice of the 4th version of ChatGPT and that her "comforting" voice could help customers adjust to the rise of artificial intelligence.

After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer," she said. "Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named 'Sky' sounded like me.

Johansson said she felt "shocked" and "angered" that Altman had selected a voice that was so "eerily similar" to hers that some of her own family members thought she was the voice behind "Sky." She also noted Altman's insinuation of the deliberate choice when he posted "her" during the Sky demonstration. Altman had apparently also reached out to her agent days ahead of Sky's launch seeking a last-minute deal.

She added that in response to OpenAI's actions, she hired legal counsel, which sent inquiries to OpenAI, asking them to explain in detail the process by which they created Sky's voice.

Sky was taken down from ChatGPT shortly after the letters were delivered to the company.