Ever since Scarlett Johansson voiced an AI assistant in the sci-fi blockbuster ‘Her’, many tech fans have dreamed of making that technology a reality.
But it now seems that OpenAI may have pursued that dream too literally as they face accusations of deliberately copying Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT‘s latest update.
According to Ms Johansson’s statement, the likeness is ‘so eerily similar to mine that close friends and news outlets could not tell the difference’.
Following the allegations, OpenAI’s ‘flirty’ voice assistant has now been paused, yet tech fans have been weighing in on whether there really is a resemblance.
So, do you think ChatGPT’s AI voice sounds like Scarlett Johansson? Let us know in the poll below.
Last week, OpenAI wowed the world with the release of ChatGPT-4o, the latest version of its AI chatbot.
The most impressive feature of the new model was an improved voice mode which allowed users to chat to their AI in an extremely natural manner.
Upon release, the AI’s warm personality and distinctive voice quickly drew comparison to the 2013 science-fiction film Her.
In Her, a lonely writer falls in love with his AI operating system named Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
The striking similarity was only enhanced when Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, made a post on X, formerly Twitter, simply saying: ‘her’.
Mr Altman has previously noted that Her is one of his favourite films, so it didn’t take a tremendous stretch to imagine he had taken some inspiration from the film’s voice assistant.
And on social media, many were quick to point out just how similar the new ‘Sky’ voice sounded to Ms Johansson’s character Samantha.
On X, one commenter wrote: ‘This is literally Scarlett Johansson. How?!’
‘ChatGPT missed the point of the movie “Her” and made an AI voice that sounds like Scarlett Johansson. Pretend I am shocked’, added another.
Other commenters on X also pointed out that the Sky voice used a similar warm and friendly tone to the character Samantha, with one commenter writing: ‘Why is she flirty’.
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman (pictured) has been accused of deliberately copying Scarlett Johansson’s voice for the latest version of ChatGPT
On X, formerly Twitter, commenters pointed out what appeared to be a strong similarity between the new voice of ChatGPT and Ms Johansson
Others noted a strong resemblance between the new AI voice assistant and the movie Her in which Scarlett Johansson plays an AI
A few commenters noted that OpenAI’s chatbot had a similar ‘flirty’ tone to Scarlett Johansson’s character in Her
However, it turns out that this similarity may not be so accidental as Ms Johansson now claims that OpenAI has deliberately copied her voice.
In a statement, Ms Johansson wrote that she had received an offer from Sam Altman last September to voice ChatGPT 4.0 but had refused.
She writes: ‘When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine.’
Ms Johansson says that OpenAI ‘reluctantly’ paused the Sky voice after her legal team sent Mr Altman two letters.
But not everyone is convinced that ChatGPT’s voice really was copying Scarlett Johansson.
In a statement, Sam Altman said: ‘The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers.
‘We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms Johansson.
Mr Altman’s arguments have found several supporters, with one commenter writing: ‘It never occurred to me that the “Sky” voice in @ChatGPTap bears any resemblance to the voice of Scarlett Johansson.’
Another commenter added that they had been using the Sky voice and ‘never made that connection’.
They added: ‘While you can say that they are similar, Scarlett Johansson has more twang and more of an American accent.’
Others echoed Mr Altman’s argument that the Sky voice had been recorded by a different actor using their own speaking voice, with one writing: ‘But it wasn’t her voice’.
Sam Altman did not help matters by tweeting ‘her’ as the new AI chatbot was being revealed
But not everyone agrees that the voices are that similar, and some commenters on X wrote that it had ‘never occurred’ that there was resemblance
Others pointed out that the voice of ChatGPT was provided by a different actor using their own voice
One commenter pointed out that Sky had a more neutral tone whereas Ms Johansson has ‘more wang and more of an American accent’
Regardless of how similar the voices may sound, OpenAI’s actions as described in Johansson’s statement have drawn widespread criticism.
On social media, many accused the tech giant of ‘stealing’ the actress’s voice and ‘trying to get away’ with deliberate imitation.
Other commenters have lampooned AI’s course of action, with one commenter calling it ‘so dumb you’d think an AI wrote the plot’.
Another joked that the plan was to ‘ask Scarlett Johansson’s permission to copy her voice, ignore her response, copy her voice, launch, and remove her voice once we get sued’.
In a post on X, OpenAI wrote: ‘We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky.’
OpenAI has now paused the Sky voice in response to the controversy, saying that they had ‘heard questions’ about how the voice was chosen
Some commenters lampooned OpenAI’s course of action as described by Ms Johansson’s statement. One wrote that it was ‘so dumb you’d think an AI wrote the plot’
OpenAI’s actions have drawn fierce criticism from those who accuse the company of ignoring Scarlett Johansson’s refusal to provide a voice for the chatbot
The company added: ‘We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them.’
Ms Johansson has not yet commented on whether she will be pursuing legal action against the company.
However, she has previously taken action against an AI company for use of her likeness.
In November last year, the actress took legal action against an app called Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar which used an AI image of her in an advertisement.
Do you think that OpenAI’s chatbot really does sound like Scarlett Johansson or do you think this is a case of the internet’s imagination running wild? Be sure to let us know what you think in the poll.
