When GPT-4o was apparently shown last week, observers were x.com/Architectoids/status/1790207213044371758″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:quick to point out;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “> that one of the ChatGPT voices sounds like Scarlett Johansson, particularly her character in His. The company says the similarity between ai Sky's flirtatious voice (which she actually is) and Johansson was unintentional. However, he is “working on pausing the use of Sky” while he addresses some questions about voice.
“We believe that ai voices should not deliberately imitate a celebrity's distinctive voice; Sky's voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson, but rather belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural voice,” OpenAI detailing how he chose the five ChatGPT voices. “To protect your privacy, we cannot share the names of our announcers.” He added that each of the artists are paid “above the highest rates in the market, and this will continue as long as their voices are used in our products.”
For what it's worth, shortly after OpenAI demoed the upgraded version of Sky, CEO Sam Altman x.com/sama/status/1790075827666796666″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:posted;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:6;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>aware the word “she” in x. But it is definitely “not an imitation.”
johansson is one of the most famous depictions of a virtual voice assistant in cinema. The film predates the conversational ai trend by about a decade, so it's no big surprise that Johansson's take on a warm and cheerful chatbot is effectively a model for today's voice assistants. The actress was previously said to have used an ai-generated version of her voice and her image in an advertisement.
It's unclear exactly why OpenAI removed Sky for the moment or what changes (if any) it plans to make before restoring voice to ChatGPT. Engadget has asked the company for comment.
