OpenAI claims it did not intend to copy Scarlett Johansson’s voice

The actress simply used her natural voice to record Sky’s voice in chatGPT, based on clips she had listened to ‘The Post’.

OpenAI chose the actress to play Sky months before Sam Altman contacted Scarlett Johansson, and they had no intention of finding someone like her, The Washington Post reported. According to the publication, the flyer, which OpenAI released last year, listed actors with «warm, engaging [and] charismatic» voices. They had to be between the ages of 25 and 45, but OpenAI reportedly didn’t specify that it was looking for the likes of Scarlett Johansson. If you recall, Johansson accused the company of copying her image for its voice assistant Sky without permission.

And if you recall, Johansson has accused the company of copying her image for its voice assistant Sky without permission.

The actress, who voices Sky, told The Post that the company never talked about Johansson or the movie «Her» (the landmark artificial intelligence movie starring Scarlett Johansson). Apparently, OpenAI also did not customize the actress’ recordings to fit Johansson, because her natural voice sounded like Sky’s, judging from clips of her initial voice test listened to by The Post. OpenAI product manager Joanne Zhang told the publication that the company chose actors who wanted to work with artificial intelligence. All decisions on the «Voices of AI» project were made by Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, and Altman was not directly involved in the process, she said.

All of the decisions were made by Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer.

Jang also told the publication that in her opinion, Skye’s voice doesn’t sound at all like Johansson’s. Actress Skye told The Post through her agent that she was simply using her natural voice and that people who know her intimately have never compared her to Johansson. But in a statement Johansson’s team shared with Engadget, she said she was shocked that OpenAI chose a voice that is «so eerily similar» to hers that «her closest friends and news outlets couldn’t tell the difference» after she turned down Altman’s offer to voice ChatGPT.

After she turned down Altman’s offer to voice ChatGPT.

Johansson said Altman first contacted her in September 2023 with a proposal, then got back in touch just two days before the company introduced GPT-4o to ask her to change her mind. Skye had been one of the voices of ChatGPT since September, but GPT-4o gave her the ability to have more human-like conversations with users. That made her resemblance to Johansson’s voice more obvious. Altman tweeted «Her» (the title of the aforementioned movie) after OpenAI demonstrated the new large language model, which didn’t help the situation and led to new comparisons to the AI virtual assistant Johansson voiced in the movie. OpenAI suspended the use of Skye’s voice «out of respect» for Johansson’s concerns. However, the actress said the company only stopped using Sky after she hired legal counsel who wrote to Altman and the company to ask for an explanation.

She said the company only stopped using Sky after she hired legal counsel who wrote to Altman and the company to ask for an explanation.

If you’re wondering if Sky really does sound like Johansson, we’ve posted the video below so you can judge for yourself. It’s a recording of Johansson’s statement read out by Sky’s voice assistant, posted by Victor Mochere on YouTube. Opinions are divided in the comments, with some saying it really sounds like she would if she were a robot, and others saying the voice sounds more like Rashida Jones.

Some say it really sounds like her if she were a robot, while others argue that the voice sounds more like Rashida Jones.