Scarlett Johansson uses real voice to annoy OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Paolo Blocco/FilmMagic

Scarlett Johansson uses her very real voice to virtually attack OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In an interview with the New York Times, the Her The actor said Altman would be a good Marvel villain, “maybe with a robot arm.”

Johansson and Altman clashed publicly in May when Altman’s OpenAI allegedly used an imitation of Johansson’s voice as a virtual AI assistant in the 2013 film “Her.” While OpenAI reluctantly agreed to use the Her-like voice option, but stressed that it was not actually a Johansson imitation. The star herself says she was “shocked” and “upset” by the apparent use of her voice after explicitly turning down the company’s offer.

“I felt like I didn’t want to be at the forefront of that,” Johansson said of turning down OpenAI’s initial request. “I just felt like it went against my core values. I don’t like giving things away. He came to me with it and I didn’t tell anyone except my husband.”

“I also felt like it would be weird for my kids. I try to be considerate of them,” Johansson added.

In the Times interview with Maureen Dowd, Johansson describes AI-generated deepfakes as a “dark wormhole from which you can never get out.”

“If you try to remove something in one area, it will reappear somewhere else,” she said. “There are other countries that have different laws and rules. If your ex-partner posts revenge deepfake porn, your whole life can be completely ruined.”

“I think technologies are evolving faster than our fragile human egos can process them,” she added, “and the impact is everywhere, especially among young people. This technology is coming at us like a 1,000-foot wave.”

Johansson says she initially turned down OpenAI’s offer to provide the voice of the ChatGPT system, but when the company went ahead with the plan anyway, the actress let her lawyers get their way.

While Johansson’s feelings for Altman and OpenAI don’t seem to have waned much in recent months, her stance toward Disney seems to be on solid ground these days. The dispute between Johansson and Disney that preceded the OpenAI incident stemmed from Disney’s decision to release her Marvel film Black Widow in both theaters and through Disney+ Premier Access during the Covid days of July 2021. Her contract had stipulated that the film would be released exclusively in theaters.

During the ensuing legal battle, Disney accused Johansson of “callous disregard for the horrific and ongoing global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic” and disclosed her $20 million salary.

But Johansson insisted the streaming plan would cost her millions of dollars in backend compensation. “I don’t hold any grudges,” Johansson says now. “I think it was just poor judgment and poor leadership at the time. The whole thing just seemed very unprofessional to me. And honestly, I was incredibly disappointed, especially because I didn’t want to give up hope until my team finally said, ‘You have to act.'”

Johansson is currently starring in the romantic comedy Fly me to the moon in cinemas. Next comes the latest Jurassic World Entry.