Scarlett Johansson says she's 'shocked and outraged' by GPT-4o's new voice resembling her

Scarlett Johansson, an actor known for her roles as Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series and the Major in the live-action Ghost in the Shell, said she was 'shocked, angry, and in disbelief' that the voice of 'Sky' in OpenAI's GPT-4o was very similar to her own. Johansson said she had received an offer in advance but declined. Meanwhile, OpenAI explained that it was 'the voice of another actor who had been contracted.'

Scarlett Johansson wants answers about ChatGPT voice that sounds like 'Her' : NPR

OpenAI says Sky voice in ChatGPT will be paused after concerns it sounds too much like Scarlett Johansson | Tom's Guide
https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/chatgpt/openai-says-Sky-voice-in-chatgpt-will-be-paused-after-concerns-it-sounds-too-much-like-scarlett-johansson

Scarlett Johansson says that OpenAI approached her to use her voice | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/20/scarlett-johansson-says-that-openai-approached-her-to-use-her-voice/

Scarlett Johansson was 'shocked, angered' by ChatGPT voice that sounded like her
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/scarlett-johansson-shocked-angered-openai-voice-rcna153180

According to Johansson's side, nine months ago, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman approached her about being the voice of a new chatbot, but she turned it down for various reasons.

However, among the chatbot voices released, many people immediately recognized 'Sky' as Johansson's voice.

The reason why many people recognized Johansson's voice is not only because she is a well-known actress, but also because she played the memorable AI voice Samantha in the 2013 film 'Her.'

Her Official Trailer #1 (2013) - Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson Movie HD - YouTube


When announcing GPT-4o, CEO Altman posted the word 'her.'

her

— Sam Altman (@sama) May 13, 2024

Also, two days before the release of GPT-4o, CEO Altman contacted Johansson and asked him to 'reconsider.'

'Hearing the voices at the protest left me shocked, angry and in disbelief,' Johansson said.

When Johansson hired a lawyer and demanded that OpenAI disclose the process of creating the voice of 'Sky,' OpenAI withdrew 'Sky.'

In addition, OpenAI said, 'We believe that AI voices should not imitate the voices of celebrities,' and explained that the voices of the new chatbots 'Breeze,' 'Cove,' 'Ember,' 'Juniper,' and 'Sky' were sampled from contracted voice actors. However, to protect privacy, they said they could not reveal who was in charge of the voices.

How the voices for ChatGPT were chosen | OpenAI
https://openai.com/index/how-the-voices-for-chatgpt-were-chosen/

◆Added on May 23, 2024 at 10:58
The Washington Post reported that, based on documents and audio recordings provided by OpenAI, it was confirmed that the voice of 'Sky' was not provided by Johansson, but by a different actor.

OpenAI didn't copy Scarlett Johansson's voice for ChatGPT, records show - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/05/22/openai-scarlett-johansson-chatgpt-ai-voice/