OpenAI backpedals after “stealing” Scarlett Johansson’s voice

New controversy at OpenAI. After the presentation of its new GPT-4o modelthe company was targeted by Scarlett Johansson, who accused the firm of stealing her voice.

If the latest version of ChatGPT reminds you of something fiercely, that’s normal. Version 4o of the OpenAI chatbot was largely inspired by the film Her by Spike Jonze. So much so that Sam Altman even made a direct reference to the film during the presentation keynote. According to Scarlett Johansson, OpenAI was a little too inspired by the 2013 feature film.

OpenAI wanted to create the robot of Her

In a statement to NPR, the actress explained that she had been ” stunned and annoyed» to hear ChatGPT speak with a voice «so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and the media couldn’t tell the difference.» In the viewfinder, the “Sky” voice profile proposed by OpenAI, which indeed strangely resembles the tone of voice of the star, who however has not given his consent for such exploitation of his image.

The actress explains that she was approached last September by Sam Altman to “become the voice of ChatGPT 4.0“, arguing that it had the power to “bridging the gap between digital companies and creatives and helping consumers become comfortable with the profound upheaval brought about by AI.“A request to which the actress did not respond”for personal reasons“, she explains.

Sam Altman caught red-handed?

Not disconcerted however, OpenAI still used a voice very similar to the character of Samantha inHer, fully assuming inspiration from the film. Two days before the keynote, Sam Altman tried again to get in touch with Scarlett Johansson to make her change her mind, no doubt aware that the situation would cause Hollywood to cringe.

If OpenAI put the voice of “Sky” on the shelf following the actress’ complaint, the company still defends itself by explaining that the voice “is not that of Scarlett Johansson and was never intended to look like her“. At NPR, Sam Altman even explains having cast the voice of Sky “before any contact with Ms. Johansson“. A defense which has difficulty holding water in view of the story given by the actress, who also takes the opportunity to ask for legislation capable of protecting “image, work and identity» public figures facing the risks posed by deepfake.

Source : NPR