Scarlett Johansson was "shocked, angered" by OpenAI's ChatGPT...
OpenAI founder Sam Altman suddenly faces a more formidable foe than any members of his company's board of directors: Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson. The actor released a statement saying that Altman in September had asked her to voice ChatGPT's text-to-speech product because he found her voice "comforting," but that she declined the offer, according to The New York Times.
Johansson's Reaction
Nine months later, when ChatGPT introduced its voice product, one option sounded so much like Johansson herself that she said she was "shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference." Johansson added in her statement to the Times that she hired legal counsel to ask Altman how the company had created the voice, which OpenAI calls Sky.
OpenAI's Response
Although OpenAI's Altman said Sky is not Johansson's, the company said it is pausing its use to respond to user questions about how it chooses and samples the voices in ChatGPT. Altman even said that the voice of Sky "was never intended to resemble hers," in a statement provided to CBS MoneyWatch Tuesday. "We cast the voice actor behind Sky's voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson. Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky's voice in our products. We are sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn't communicate better."
The company announced on X (formerly Twitter) Monday, that it was pausing the use of Sky. In a blog post late Sunday, OpenAI elaborated on how it comes up with its different voices, reiterating that the Sky option uses the voice of an actor who is not Johansson.
The Selection Process
OpenAI worked with casting professionals and voice actors, ultimately choosing the voices based on criteria such as timelessness and ease of listening. Johansson stated that Altman had reached out to her about voicing the system but she declined the offer. Some users lamented the company's decision to disable Sky temporarily, mentioning it as their favorite voice option.
Johansson said she had lawyers contact Altman and OpenAI, asking them to detail the process of creating the 'Sky' voice. It was after these demands that the voice was taken down. The timeline for the voice's availability again remains unclear.
