Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI copied her voice after she turned down ChatGPT offer: “I was shocked”

The “Her” actress claims she was “forced to hire legal counsel” to address the issue of an AI soundscape.

Scarlett Johansson fights with her voice… for her voice.

On Monday the Her The actress accused technology company OpenAI of using a voice “eerily similar” to her own in the latest version of its ChatGPT bot after Johansson explicitly refused to lend her voice to the system, leaving her “shocked” and “forced” to seek legal counsel to clarify the situation.

OpenAI denies that the voice in question, named Sky, is intended to resemble Johansson.

Johansson said in a statement to Weekly entertainment that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman contacted her in September and asked her to voice ChatGPT 4.0 because he felt her voice would “bring comfort to people.” She declined for personal reasons.

“Nine months later, my friends, family and the public noticed how much the newest system called ‘Sky’ sounded like me,” said Johansson, who starred in the 2013 film Her. “When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angry, and couldn’t believe that Mr. Altman was aiming for a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and the news outlets couldn’t tell the difference.”

Related: OpenAI retires ChatGPT voice that sounds like Scarlett Johansson amid controversy

Johansson’s statement came hours after OpenAI announced it was pausing use of Sky while the company answers questions surrounding the software. “We believe AI voices should not intentionally mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice,” the company said, adding that Sky “is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson, but belongs to another professional actress who uses her own natural speaking voice.” The company said it could not disclose the names of the voice artists for privacy reasons.

Johansson also pointed out that Altman tweeted the word “she” when the ChatGPT voice demos were introduced last week, which suggests a connection between Her and Sky. “Mr Altman even suggested that the resemblance was intentional by tweeting a single word ‘she’ – a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system named Samantha who develops an intimate relationship with a human,” Johansson said. (Altman has previously quoted Her as one of his favorite films.)

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Johansson further claimed that two days before the ChatGPT demo was released, Altman contacted her agent again and asked if she would reconsider the offer. Before she could respond, she said, Sky was out in the world. “Due to their actions,” Johansson said, “I was forced to hire legal counsel who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAI outlining what they had done and asking them to describe the exact process they used to create the ‘Sky’ voice. As a result, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to remove the ‘Sky’ voice.”

Related: ChatGPT launches talking AI that sounds just like Scarlett Johansson Her – intentionally?

Concluding her statement, Johansson called for new laws to address issues of AI technology and individual rights. “At a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and protecting our own image, our own work, our own identity, I believe these are issues that deserve absolute clarity,” she said. “I look forward to a solution in the form of transparency and passing appropriate laws to ensure that individual rights are protected.”

When asked for comment on Johansson’s remarks on Monday night, Altman reiterated to EW: “Sky’s voice is not that of Scarlett Johansson, nor was it ever intended to resemble her. We selected the voice actor for Sky’s voice before reaching out to Ms. Johansson. Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have suspended the use of Sky’s voice in our products.” He added: “We are sorry we did not communicate better with Ms. Johansson.”

On Tuesday, Johansson’s call for individual protection from companies developing AI products was echoed in a statement of support from SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents thousands of actors and artists.

“We thank Ms. Johansson for speaking out on this issue of critical importance to all SAG-AFTRA members,” a spokesperson said. “We share her concerns and fully support her right to clarity and transparency regarding the voice used in the development of the Chat GPT-4o ‘Sky’ device.”

The statement continued: “SAG-AFTRA members are among the most talented and often well-known people in the world. That’s why we are vigorously advocating for federal legislation that would protect their voices and images – and those of everyone else – from unauthorized digital reproduction.”

The use of AI in the entertainment industry has been a controversial topic as the union negotiated with Hollywood studios during their long strike in 2023. SAG-AFTRA’s statement on Tuesday concluded: “We are pleased that Open AI has responded to these concerns and suspended use of ‘Sky,’ and we look forward to working with them and other industry stakeholders to enshrine transparent and robust protections for all of us.”

Additional reporting by Dustin Nelson.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.