OpenAI is once again caught in controversy as Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson has reportedly filed a statement alleging that the AI company used a voice for their new ChatGPT 4o that closely resembled her own. This comes after the actor reportedly declined the company’s request to use her voice for their AI model.
In a statement, the 'Avengers' and 'Lucy' actor said that she was ‘shocked and angered' after she heard the voice of the AI model. She also called it 'eerily similar' to her own.
"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 friend and news outlets could not tell the difference," she told NPR.
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Last week, Sam Altman shared a cryptic post on social media, simply stating "her." This post left netizens speculating about the company's plan. Johansson, in her statement, also called the resemblance in the tweet as "intentional."
"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 forms an intimate relationship with a human," she said.
It has hardly been a week since Open AI launched its new enhanced AI model "ChatGPT 4o." It is also worth noting here that, in the same week, Google also announced its new plans in the AI space in its IO event.
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The competition in the AI segment is heating up and companies are increasingly working on improving their AI models. However, this is also leading to many concerns. Deepfakes, IPR, and copyrights are some of the issues raised by people.
"In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity. I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected," Johansson said.
Meanwhile, as per a report by Reuters, Open AI has denied the allegations and stated that " (AI model's) voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice. To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents."
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