Scarlett Johansson brought receipts to the OpenAI controversy
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OpenAI and Scarlett Johansson
OpenAI announced this week that it’s removing Sky, one of the voices used by its new GPT-4o model, after users found it sounded eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson’s AI character in “Her.” The actress released a statement stating that she hired legal counsel to inquire about how the voice was developed. While the company claims the voice was not based on Johansson’s, the actress said OpenAI had previously approached her about using her voice for the model.
Legal Action Against Live Nation Entertainment
The U.S. Department of Justice and 30 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster’s parent company, for alleged monopolistic practices. U.S. attorney general Merrick Garland said in a press conference that Live Nation “suffocates its competition.” The suit comes after legislators took a closer look at the entertainment giant’s control over the industry, sparked by Taylor Swift fans’ frustrating attempts to buy Eras tour tickets in late 2022.
Leadership Changes at Techstars
This week also had a big shakeup at Techstars. CEO Maëlle Gavet announced she is leaving the company at the end of the month, with co-founder and board chairman David Cohen replacing her. Gavet’s leadership style was a subject of controversy during her tenure. A TechCrunch investigation found accusations of an “autocratic and punishing" culture that led to a significant labor exodus.
Recent Tech News
Slack AI Training: Slack is tapping its own user data to train some of its new AI services. If you don’t want your data to become part of a training set, you have to email Slack to opt out. Read More
Humane for Sale: After a bumpy launch of Humane's $700 Ai Pin, Bloomberg reports that the company could be looking to sell — and has priced itself between $750 million and $1 billion. Read More
And more updates on Microsoft Build, Spotify, FCC regulations, Y Combinator insights, Adobe's legal actions, Meta's AI council, OpenAI resignations, and other tech news.
