OpenAI is removing one in every of the voices utilized by ChatGPT. Users found that it sounded just like Scarlett Johansson, the corporate announced on Monday, and Johansson herself released a press release saying she hired legal council to inquire in regards to the Sky voice and get exact details about the way it was developed. Sky is now being paused after OpenAI used it when demoing its recent GPT-4o model last week.
“We consider that AI voices mustn’t deliberately mimic a celeb’s distinctive voice—Sky’s voice shouldn’t be an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a unique skilled actress using her own natural speaking voice,” the corporate wrote in a blog post. “To guard their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents.”
A video of the demo made the rounds on social media last week as users found the voice to be just like Johansson’s. Some mocked the voice for being overly flirtatious, while others likened it to a male fantasy.
The flirty voice has drawn comparisons to the 2013 film “Her,” through which Johansson voices a sultry virtual assistant. The film’s principal character, played by Joaquin Phoenix, finally ends up falling in love with the virtual assistant.
Although the corporate hasn’t compared Sky’s voice to Johansson’s, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted the word “Her” following the corporate’s event.
TechCrunch confirmed that Johansson released a press release in a while Monday saying that OpenAI approached her in September about supplying the voice, which was first reported by NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn. Within the statement, she said that she declined “after much consideration and for private reasons” and was “shocked” when she heard the released demo.
The statement also says that she was “forced to rent legal counsel” and that the corporate “reluctantly agreed” to vary the Sky voice.
OpenAI’s demo last week aimed to showcase the chatbot’s enhanced conversational abilities, but went viral after the sultry voice giggled at almost every part an OpenAI worker was saying. At one point, the chatbot told the worker: “Wow, that’s quite the outfit you’ve got on.” At one other point, the chatbot said “Stop it, 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 “encourage trust.” It also wants them to have a “warm, engaging, confidence-inspiring, charismatic voice.”
Going forward, OpenAI says it plans to “introduce additional voices in ChatGPT to raised match the various interests and preferences of users.”
Johansson’s statement in full:
“Last September, I received a suggestion from Sam Altman, who desired to hire me to voice the present ChatGPT 4.0 system. He told me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech corporations and creatives and help consumers to feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and AI. He said he felt that my voice can be comforting to people.
After much consideration and for private reasons, I declined the offer. Nine months later, my friends, family and most of the people all noted how much the latest system named “Sky” seemed like me.
Once I heard the released demo, I used to be shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily just like mine that my closest friends and news outlets couldn’t tell the difference. Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word “her” – a reference to the film through which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate 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 connect, the system was on the market.
Because of this of their actions, I used to be forced to rent legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAI, setting out what that they had done and asking them to detail the precise process by which they created the “Sky” voice. Consequently, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to take down the “Sky” voice.
In a time once we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I consider these are questions that deserve absolute clarity. I stay up for resolution in the shape of transparency and the passage of appropriate laws to assist be sure that individual rights are protected.”
OpenAI shared the next statement from Altman: “The voice of Sky shouldn’t be Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers. We solid the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson. Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we’ve paused using Sky’s voice in our products. We’re sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn’t communicate higher.”
Update: This story originally published at 8 a.m. PT Monday and was updated to incorporate Johansson’s and Altman’s statements.
