Scarlett Johansson / OpenAI "Sky" Voice Controversy

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Overview

Scarlett Johansson / OpenAI "Sky" Voice Controversy refers to the backlash surrounding the release of the ChatGPT-4o demo that featured an AI human voice the company named "Sky." The voice drew strong comparisons to the film Her in which a lonely man develops romantic feelings for an AI voice assistant played by Scarlett Johansson. A week after the tech demo was released, Johansson claimed Sam Altman of OpenAI sought her out to voice "Sky," and when she refused, the company created a voice intentionally similar to her own. When she threatened legal action, OpenAI removed "Sky" to address the issue. The controversy emerged online in May 2024, sparking widespread discussions and media coverage.

Background

On May 13th, 2024, OpenAI released a tech demo of ChatGPT-4o, which featured a realistic human female voice companion the company dubbed "Sky" (demo shown below).

The voice seemed to be inspired by Scarlett Johansson's character in Her, which was also a realistic human female voice, and many joked about the similarity upon release. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman seemed to acknowledge this, tweeting the word "her" on May 13th^[1] (shown below).

her Sam Altman @sama 1:45 PM May 13, 2024 5.3M Views 2.2K 6.8K 37K 1.8K

Developments

On May 19th, 2024, OpenAI released a blog post^[4] addressing concerns about how they created the voice of "Sky" and other AI voice programs. It stated all of the voices were performed by voice actors, whose names the company did not release. OpenAI stated that Sky's voice was not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but that of a different, unnamed actress.

On May 20th, Johansson shared a letter to news outlets^[2]^[3] in which she alleged that eight months before the release of the ChatGPT-4o demo, Sam Altman contacted her with an offer to voice Sky, which she refused. She iterated that she believes Altman set out to create an identical voice to hers without her consent, and that Altman tweeting "her" amounted to an admission of his intent. She stated that she hired legal counsel and demanded that OpenAI detail how they created the "Sky" voice. As a result, OpenAI removed "Sky" to further work on it (letter shown below).

"Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system. He told me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers to feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and Al. He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people. After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer. Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named "Sky" sounded like me. 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 friends and news outlets could not 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 forms an intimate relationship with a human. Two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released, Mr. Altman contacted my agent, asking me to reconsider. Before we could connect, the system was out there. As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAl, setting out what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the "Sky" voice. Consequently, OpenAl reluctantly agreed to take down the "Sky" voice. In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own 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's letter inspired intense criticism of OpenAI and artificial intelligence in general. For example, on May 21st, 2024, Twitter / X user @VoicesByZane^[5] tweeted, "This technology is built on theft, disrespect, and refusing to acknowledge consent. There is no coexistence with GenAI. It's bad tech made by bad people." The post gained over 780 retweets and 2,200 likes in two hours (shown below, left).

On May 20th, X user @IwriteOK^[6] stated the controversy proved that "Altman's goal is to basically steal the rights to the entire creative output of the human race." The post gained over 1,200 retweets and 5,900 likes in one day (shown below, right).