Scarlett Johansson says she’s ‘shocked, angered and in disbelief’ claiming OpenAI cloned her voice for ChatGPT project without her consent after she turned down their offer to work for them
Scarlett Johansson says she was ‘shocked, angry and in disbelief’ as she claims the company OpenAI took her voice without her consent for a new ChatGPT project.
The Academy Award-nominated actress, 39, released a statement through her publicist Marcel Pariseau NPRwhich explained the issue in detail on Monday.
Johansson said that after she turned down a deal to let the company use her voice, they went ahead and used a voice indistinguishable from hers.
“Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system,” said the New York City resident. “He told me he believed that by being my voice in the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers feel comfortable with the seismic shift around people and Al.
“He said he felt my voice would be comforting to people. After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer.”
Scarlett Johansson, 39, says she was “shocked, angry and in disbelief” and claimed the company OpenAI recorded her voice without her consent for a new ChatGPT project. Pictured last month in Washington, DC
Johansson, who provided her voice for the role of an AI named Samantha in the 2013 film Her, said that less than a year later it was clear that the company was going ahead with their plans involving her voice.
“Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noticed how much the latest system called ‘Sky’ looked like me,” Johansson said. “When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angry, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so uncannily similar to mine that my closest friends and news media couldn’t tell the difference.
‘Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word ‘her’ – a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who enters into an intimate relationship with a human.”
Johansson said Altman contacted her agent “two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released” and asked them to reconsider their offer to work for them.
“Before we could connect, the system was already available,” says Johansson. “As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAl, detailing what they had done and asking them to describe the exact process by which they acquired the ‘Sky’ created voice. .’
Johansson said OpenAl “reluctantly agreed to disable ‘Sky’s voice” after contacting them.
Johansson said she hopes the information she has come out with will push AI to publicly admit their actions, and that the government will intervene and enact laws so that AI cannot overstep its bounds in the future.
“At a time when we are all struggling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identity, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity,” Johansson said.
Johansson said she hopes the information she has come out with will push AI to publicly admit their actions, and that the government will intervene and enact laws so that AI cannot overstep its bounds in the future.
The Academy Award-nominated actress released a statement to NPR through her publicist Marcel Pariseau, explaining the matter in detail on Monday.
Johansson said that after she turned down a deal to let the company use her voice, they went ahead and used a voice indistinguishable from hers.
She added: “I look forward to a solution in the form of transparency and the adoption of appropriate legislation to ensure that individual rights are protected.”
The voice that Johansson claims is related to hers, titled “Sky,” was one of five voices that OpenAI made available last fall, according to The Washington Postwhich added that the company has suspended the use of voice from Sunday.
The company said in a blog post that it had trained voices for the audio option of its evolving AI program, and compensated voice actors with “above average rates” for their work in the program.
Johansson and her husband, Saturday Night Live personality Colin Jost, 41, are parents to son Cosmo, two. The actress is also mother to daughter Rose Dauriac, nine, with ex-husband Romain Dauriac, 42.