HOLLYWOOD actress Scarlett Johansson was upset at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, alleging that they utilized a synthetic voice identical to hers in their new artificial intelligence (AI) model.

In a statement to Variety, Johansson revealed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached her in September to voice the latest ChatGPT 4.0 system.

“He told me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers to feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and Al,” she said.

Photo Courtesy: Screen grab – Vecteezy.com

Altman believed Johansson’s voice would provide comfort and ease the public’s transition into a world increasingly influenced by AI. However, Johansson ultimately declined the offer for personal reasons.

However, when OpenAI released their new voice named “Sky,” Johansson was surprised by how strangely similar it sounded to her own voice.

Friends, family and the public noted the uncanny resemblance. 

“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 that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” Johansson said.

The actress brought up Altman’s tweet in which he only said “her,” alluding to the 2013 movie “Her,” where she provided the voice of Samantha, an AI system. This tweet implied even more that Johansson’s voice and the artificial voice produced by OpenAI were meant to sound alike.

Since then, Johansson’s legal team has written two letters to OpenAI asking for further details on how the “Sky” voice was created and how it came to resemble her. 

“In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity,” she said.

OpenAI has responded by temporarily muting the “Sky” voice while refuting any intentional attempt to imitate Johansson. They claimed that the voice was modeled by a separate professional actress’s genuine speaking voice.  

The entertainment sector has been debating the effects of artificial intelligence on a greater scale. Six months ago, actors, including Johansson, called for increased compensation and protections against the use of AI to imitate their voices and looks without permission.

Industry experts like Dan Stein, head of AI voice licensing company Voice-Swap, have criticized OpenAI’s actions about the invasive nature of using someone’s voice without permission.

OpenAI is facing various legal challenges on its use of copyrighted materials to train its AI models. 

The issue remains unresolved, but it shows how new AI technology can create complications on intellectual property rights. 

With reports from Ainah Sitchon