OpenAI removes one of the voices used by ChatGPT. Users found that she sounded similar to Scarlett Johansson, the company was announced on Monday, and Johansson herself released a statement saying she’s hired legal counsel to inquire about Sky voice and get precise details about how it’s being developed. Sky has now been put on hiatus after OpenAI used it during the launch of the new GPT-4o model last week.
“We believe that AI voices should not intentionally imitate 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 voice,” the company wrote in a suspension. “To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents.”
A video of the demonstration made the rounds on social media last week, with users finding the voice to be similar to Johansson’s. Some mocked the voice for existence overly flirtatiouswhile others likened it to a male fantasy.
The love voice has been compared to the 2013 film Her, in which Johansson voices a sultry virtual assistant. The film’s main character, played by Joaquin Phoenix, ends up falling in love with the virtual assistant.
Although the company hasn’t compared Sky’s voice to Johansson’s, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman he tweeted the word “Her” after the company event.
TechCrunch confirmed that Johansson released a statement later Monday saying that OpenAI approached her in September about providing the voice, which was first reported by NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn. In the statement, he said he declined “after much thought and for personal reasons” and was “shocked” to hear the demo released.
The statement also says it was “forced to hire legal counsel” and that the company “reluctantly agreed” to change Sky’s voice.
OpenAI’s demo last week was meant to show off the chatbot’s improved conversational abilities, but it went viral after the husky voice laughed at almost everything an OpenAI employee said. At one point, the chatbot said to the employee, “Wow, that’s the outfit you’ve got on.” At another point, the chatbot said “Stop, you’re making me blush” after receiving a compliment.
In its blog post, OpenAI says it wants its chatbots’ voices to sound “approachable” and to “inspire trust.” He also wants them to have a “warm, engaging, charismatic voice that inspires confidence.”
In the future, OpenAI says it plans to “introduce additional voices to ChatGPT to better match the different interests and preferences of users.”
Johansson’s statement in detail:
“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 expressing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers feel comfortable with the seismic change involving humans and artificial intelligence. He said he felt my voice would be comforting to people.
After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer. Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public have noticed how much the newest system named ‘Sky’ looks like me.
When I heard the demo that was released, I was shocked, remembered, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would go with a voice that sounded so eerily like mine that my closest friends and news outlets couldn’t tell the difference. Mr. Altman even hinted that the resemblance was intentional, tweeting the word “she” — a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms a close relationship with a human.
Two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released, Mr. Altman contacted my agent, asking me to reconsider. Before we could log in, the system was out there.
As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAI, stating what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the “Sky” voice. Consequently, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to remove the “Sky” voice.
At a time when we all struggle with deepfakes and protecting our likeness, our work, our identity, I think these are questions that deserve absolute clarity. I look forward to a resolution in the form of transparency and the passing of appropriate legislation that will help ensure the protection of individual rights.”
OpenAI shared the following statement from Altman: “Sky’s voice is not Scarlett Johansson’s and was never intended to sound like hers. We set up the voice actor behind Skye’s voice before any contact with Ms. Johansson. Out of respect for Ms Johansson, we have stopped using Sky’s voice in our products. We are sorry for Ms. Johansson that we did not communicate better.”
Update: This story was originally published at 8 a.m. PT Monday and was updated to include statements from Johansson and Altman.
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