Summary

• Scarlett Johansson is suing OpenAI over an AI voice resembling hers, despite multiple refusals.
• OpenAI claimed a different actress was used, apologizing for the misunderstanding.
• The case highlights ethical concerns over AI usage in media, raising questions about technology and creative property.

Scarlett Johansson is taking legal action against OpenAI for a voice that seems to copy her. Johansson is an A-list actor known for her work playing Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as several other roles including parts in Under the Skin and Lost in Translation. Most recently, Johansson acted in the films Asteroid City and North Star, and will soon appear in the movies Fly Me to the Moon and Transformers One.

Per NPR, Johansson is now issuing legal action against OpenAI after claiming that they used her voice to develop an AI assistant. OpenAI recently released a now-deleted voice called Sky, which many observers felt sounded quite similar to Johansson’s voice. As a result, Johansson’s lawyers are taking action to demand that OpenAI disclose how their voices are developed. OpenAI has since removed the Sky voice from their systems.

How Johansson's Soundalike Voice Happened

Johansson Previously Voiced An AI Operating System In A Film Role

According to the actress, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached the actress months ago to ask whether her voice could be used to derive the company’s AI personal assistant voice. After considering the offer, Johansson declined multiple times. OpenAI even asked her just days before the product’s release, as the company continued its requests. When the Sky voice came out, Johansson was enraged, as the voice sounded uncannily like hers. Listeners compared Sky to Johansson’s voice in Her, where she voiced a Siri-like iOS operating system.

Her is available to stream on Max.

Johansson described being “shocked, angered, and in disbelief” that Altman and his team would copy her voice despite multiple refusals. On the other hand, OpenAI claimed that this was all a misunderstanding and that a different actress was used to derive the voice, despite its seeming likeness to Johansson, saying that Sky was not meant to mimic Johansson. Altman said, however, that he and his company eliminated the voice from their products for the sake of Johansson’s comfort, and apologized for the misunderstanding.

Johansson’s case against OpenAI is just one of the many issues in the ongoing debate about the ethics of AI usage. Recreating voices has been a particular concern in the media, extending to the case like that of Morgan Neville’s documentary Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, which used AI to imitate the voice of the late chef Anthony Bourdain. As developments in AI continue to rage on, this debate is bound to continue as the world faces friction between technology, creative property, and ethics in ways that are hard to predict.

Source: NPR