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Scarlett Johansson spoke out in opposition to OpenAI after the corporate appeared to repeat her voice for his or her new “Sky” voice program in a brand new assertion shared on Monday, Might 20. The assertion was shared on social media by NPR tech correspondent Bobby Allyn. All through the assertion, the actress, 39, revealed that Open AI CEO Sam Altman, 39, had reached out to have her be the voice of this system, however she declined. Now that the similarity was evident, she introduced that she was taking authorized motion.
Scarlett revealed that the tech entrepreneur had reached out to her in regards to the mission and provided his reasoning why, however she mentioned no. “He instructed me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I might bridge the hole between tech corporations and creatives and assist customers really feel comfy with the seismic shift regarding people and AI. He mentioned he felt that my voice can be comforting to individuals,” she mentioned. “After a lot consideration and for private causes, I declined the provide.”
Assertion from Scarlett Johansson on the OpenAI state of affairs. Wow: pic.twitter.com/8ibMeLfqP8
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) May 20, 2024
Scarlett mentioned that after declining the provide, she had a number of individuals level out the similarities to her, and he or she mentioned when she heard it she mentioned that she was “shocked, angered, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily just like mine that my closest buddies and information retailers couldn’t inform the distinction.” She additionally famous that he had “insinuated” the similarity by tweeting “Her,” a reference to Scarlett’s function within the 2013 film of the identical title.
The Misplaced in Translation actress continued and mentioned that shortly earlier than this system was launched, Sam contacted her agent to ask her to “rethink” his provide, however earlier than she might reply, the software program was on the market. She mentioned that after the discharge, she was pressured to hunt counsel.
On the finish of her assertion, Scarlett emphasised retaining management over your likeness and he or she hopes to ensure there may be laws that clearly spells out the legal guidelines on this. “In a time after we are all grappling with deepfakes and the safety of our personal likeness, our personal work, our personal identities, I imagine these are questions that deserve absolute readability,” she wrote.
Whereas OpenAI pulled the “Sky” software program over the weekend, the corporate did launch a weblog submit clarifying that they weren’t attempting to imitate any particular voice. “We imagine that AI voices mustn’t intentionally mimic a celeb’s distinctive voice—Sky’s voice will not be an imitation of Scarlett Johansson however belongs to a distinct skilled actress utilizing her personal pure talking voice,” they wrote.
After Scarlett spoke out, her MCU co-star Mark Ruffalo confirmed help in a submit on X (previously Twitter). “That is just the start. Time to exit and hug a tree,” he wrote.
