An AI program on ChatGPT’s upcoming voice mode raises considerations about its similarity to Scarlett Johansson’s voice, and the actress responded.
Replace: Scarlett Johansson has reacted to the AI voice in OpenAI’s ChatGPT system, saying she was “shocked” and “angered” by how intently the voice resembled her personal. She additionally revealed that the corporate had truly wished to rent her to voice the chatbot final yr, however she turned down the supply, making it all of the extra suspicious when the ultimate voice sounded a lot like her.
You’ll be able to learn Johansson’s full assertion beneath:
Final September, I obtained a proposal from Sam Altman, who wished to rent me to voice the present ChatGPT 4.0 system. He instructed me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I may bridge the hole between tech corporations and creatives and assist customers to really feel comfy with the seismic shift regarding people and Al. He stated he felt that my voice can be comforting to folks.
After a lot consideration and for private causes, I declined the supply. 9 months later, my pals, household and most of the people all famous how a lot the most recent system named ‘Sky’ gave the impression of me.
After I heard the launched demo, I used to be shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily much like mine that my closest pals and information shops couldn’t inform the distinction. Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single phrase ‘her’ — a reference to the movie during which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who kinds an intimate relationship with a human.
Two days earlier than the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was launched, Mr. Altman contacted my agent, asking me to rethink. Earlier than we may join, the system was on the market. On account of their actions, I used to be compelled to rent authorized counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAl, setting out what they’d accomplished and asking them to element the precise course of by which they created the ‘Sky’ voice. Consequently, OpenAl reluctantly agreed to take down the ‘Sky’ voice.
In a time once we are all grappling with deepfakes and the safety of our personal likeness, our personal work, our personal identities, I imagine these are questions that deserve absolute readability. I look ahead to decision within the type of transparency and the passage of acceptable laws to assist be certain that particular person rights are protected.
— Authentic article follows —
Scarlett Johansson performed the function of an AI voice in Spike Jonze’s prophetic 2013 movie Her. Within the movie, this system, Samantha, is a digital assistant to Joaquin Phoenix’s character who holds practical call-and-response conversations with him regardless of solely current via his pc working programs. As AI expertise continues to develop at an immeasurable price, life is now imitating artwork as OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4o announcement showcased a brand new voice mode that included a personality named Sky, who many have related to Johansson’s signature raspy pipes. OpenAI founder Sam Altman would even put up “her” on social media in the course of the demo presentation.
Based on The Hollywood Reporter, OpenAI has said that they are going to be pausing using Sky’s voice because of the resemblance to the well-known actress. The corporate said, “We’ve heard questions on how we selected the voices in ChatGPT, particularly Sky. We’re working to pause using Sky whereas we tackle them.” They might go additional in-depth in a weblog put up the place they addressed folks’s considerations and defined their voice casting course of, “We imagine that AI voices shouldn’t intentionally mimic a celeb’s distinctive voice — Sky’s voice just isn’t an imitation of Scarlett Johansson however belongs to a unique skilled actress utilizing her personal pure talking voice. To guard their privateness, we can not share the names of our voice skills.”
OpenAI said that they put out a casting name in early 2023 for voice fashions and obtained over 400 submissions. The checklist would ultimately be narrowed right down to 14 finalists. The corporate provides that they settled on 5 closing voices after they said, “We spoke with every actor concerning the imaginative and prescient for human-AI voice interactions and OpenAI, and mentioned the expertise’s capabilities, limitations, and the dangers concerned, in addition to the safeguards we’ve carried out. It was vital to us that every actor understood the scope and intentions of Voice Mode earlier than committing to the challenge.”
The actors flew to San Francisco for the recording classes that ChatGPT would combine into its expertise later this yr. They expounded, “We help the inventive group and labored intently with the voice appearing trade to make sure we took the correct steps to solid ChatGPT’s voices. Every actor receives compensation above top-of-market charges, and this may proceed for so long as their voices are utilized in our merchandise.”
