In a recent internal document revealed by OpenAI, the company did not intentionally mimic Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT’s “Sky” avatar, despite concerns raised by the actress. According to these documents, which were shared with The Washington Post, a different actress was hired to voice ChatGPT Sky months before OpenAI CEO Sam Altman approached Johansson about being one of the voices for ChatGPT.
The casting process for Sky’s voice sought a non-union actor aged 25 to 45 with a “warm, engaging, and charismatic” voice. There was no mention of Johansson or her role in the movie “Her” during the selection process, where she voiced an AI. Interviews with multiple people involved in the process of creating Sky’s voice confirmed that the company did not specifically seek someone with a voice similar to Johansson’s.
The agent representing the actress who voiced Sky confirmed that neither Scarlett Johansson nor the film “Her” was referenced by OpenAI throughout the hiring process. This supports OpenAI’s claim that any resemblance to Johansson’s voice was coincidental and not deliberate.
Despite these explanations, legal experts suggest Johansson might still have grounds for a lawsuit against OpenAI. The resemblance of Sky’s voice to Johansson’s and the timing of Altman’s approach, days before the voice’s release, could strengthen her case. Altman’s public reference to the voice as ‘Her’ adds complexity, potentially implying that the voice was modelled after Johansson’s AI character from the movie.
“The Ninth Circuit held that a celebrity with a distinctive voice could recover against someone who used a voice impersonator to create the impression that the celebrity had endorsed the product or was speaking in the advertisement,” said Christian Mammen, a partner at Womble Bond Dickinson.
The outcome of any legal action would depend on the state’s laws where it is filed. In California, where OpenAI is located, there is no specific law prohibiting the creation of digital or AI voice replicas. However, California does require consent for the commercial use of a person’s voice.
As of now, Scarlett Johansson has not taken any legal action against OpenAI. The situation underscores the complexities of right-to-publicity laws and the ethical considerations of AI voice replication.
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