Scarlett Johansson “Shocked” by AI Chatbot’s Voice with Her Resemblance

Scarlett Johansson accused OpenAI of copying her voice for an AI chatbot after she refused to provide it, calling the imitation "shocking" and hiring lawyers.

Actress Scarlett Johansson is reportedly “furious” and “astonished” after an AI chatbot created by OpenAI has a voice distinctly similar to her own. Johansson, whose AI assistant Samantha was featured in the 2013 Her movie, clarified that she had once declined OpenAI’s offer to use her voice for the chatbot. 

It did not take very long for people to realize that the voice of the recent chatbot named “Sky” was similar to the voice of Sara in the movie Her. Sam Altman himself was found to have tweeted the word “her” in a likely allusion to the film.

Johansson claimed that she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” over the use of a voice that so closely resembled her own after she had previously rejected the company’s approach back in September. She claimed that OpenAI had purposely stolen her voice without her permission.

Meanwhile, Johansson says that in an age in which we are dealing with deepfakes and protecting our images and our images and our work, and our identities, these are questions that must be unequivocally answered. She said she has instructed legal representation and even sent legal notices to OpenAI seeking clarification on how the voice was generated.

OpenAI has also made a statement that it is pausing the use of the Sky voice model. In response to the claims, Altman said that the company was not trying to imitate Johansson and added that “the voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s and it wasn’t supposed to be either. ”

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The issue illustrates the broader trend of worrying trends regarding issues of consent and copyright as AI technologies continue to progress. Ahlan also comes after actors went on strike last year partially over AI’s unregulated use of their images.