Scarlett Johansson ‘shocked’ and ‘angry’ over voice controversy

Scarlett Johansson responded to OpenAI’s launch of a chatbot with a voice “eerily similar” to her own.

The AI ​​voice controversy began earlier this month when the company launched a chatbot voice named Sky that some were quick to compare to Johansson’s role in the 2013 film Her.

Spike Jonze’s romantic comedy-drama follows Joaquin Phoenix’s character Theodore falling in love with his virtual assistant Samantha, voiced by Johansson.

While OpenAI removed Sky’s voice and insisted it was not an impersonation of Johansson, the Marvel star accused the company and its founder, Sam Altman, of copying his voice .

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“When I heard the demo released, I was shocked, angry and in disbelief that Mr. Altman could pursue a voice that sounded so eerily like mine,” Johansson wrote in a statement (via BBC News).

“Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word ‘she’ – a reference to the film in which I voiced a cat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human.”

Johansson said she was initially approached by OpenAI to lend her voice to the new chatbot, but declined.

“(Altman) told me he thought that by voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers feel comfortable with the seismic shift regarding humans and AI,” she said.

“He said he thought my voice would comfort people.”

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Johansson said she had to hire lawyers and asked them to send two letters to OpenAI, to determine whether Sky’s voice had been modeled on hers.

“At a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and protecting our own image, our own work, our own identity, I think these are issues that deserve absolute clarity,” Johansson added.

For his part, Altman maintains that Sky was never meant to impersonate the Oscar-nominated star and that a voice actor was chosen before contacting Johansson.

“Sky’s voice is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to sound like hers,” he wrote.

“We chose the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before contacting Ms. Johansson. Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have suspended the use of Sky’s voice in our products.

“We apologize to Ms. Johansson for not communicating better.”

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