'A BOT LIKE ME'
Scarlett Johansson accuses world’s leading AI firm of copying her voice for flirty new chatbot
She told how friends, family and fans 'all noted how much it sounded like me'
ACTRESS Scarlett Johansson has accused the world’s leading AI firm of copying her voice for a flirty new chatbot.
The star, 39, said she was angered by the “eerie similarity” of OpenAI’s ChatGPT virtual assistant “Sky”, who giggles at compliments.
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The Sky voice was used during a promotional event last week, where the chatbot flirted with its human user and held difficult conversations in real time.
She revealed: “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 AI.
“He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people.” She added: “After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer.
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In a scathing letter, Scarlett, who played an AI virtual assistant in the 2013 film Her, wrote: “I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine.”
She said friends, family and fans “all noted how much it sounded like me”.
Microsoft-backed OpenAI, valued at £63billion, said it will scrap the disputed voice from the £18-a-month service but denied it was an imitation of the actress.
OpenAI’s model behaviour chief, Joanne Jang, added she had been in “conversations” with Ms Johansson’s team to clarify “confusion” over the model.
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Last year the actress took legal action against the Lisa AI app, which she claims used her likeness without permission in an advert.
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