OpenAI is removing one of the voices used by ChatGPT after users discovered it sounded similar to Scarlett Johansson, the company Announced on Monday. The voice, called Sky, is now on hiatus after OpenAI used it when demoing its new GPT-4o model last week.
“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,” the company wrote in a blog entry. “To protect your privacy, we cannot share the names of our announcers.”
A video of the demonstration circulated on social media last week when users found the voice to be similar to Johansson's. Some mocked the voice for being x.com/cassiecodes/status/1790330792075280861″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>too flirtywhile others compared it to a x.com/AnnaRMills/status/1790069229019918392″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>male fantasy.
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The flirtatious voice has drawn comparisons to the 2013 film “Her,” in which Johansson voices a sultry virtual assistant. The main character of the film, played by Joaquin Phoenix, ends up falling in love with the virtual assistant.
Although the company has not compared Sky's voice to Johansson's, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman x.com/sama/status/1790075827666796666?lang=en” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>tweeted the word “She” after the company event.
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The demo was intended to show off the chatbot's improved conversational capabilities, but went viral after the sultry voice laughed at almost everything an OpenAI employee said. At one point, the chatbot told the employee, “Wow, that's an outfit you have on.” At another point, the chatbot said, “Stop it, you're making me blush” after receiving a compliment.
In its blog post, OpenAI says it wants its chatbot voices to sound “approachable” and “inspire trust.” He also wants them to have a “charismatic, attractive voice that inspires confidence.”
In the future, OpenAI says it plans to “introduce additional voices into ChatGPT to better accommodate diverse user interests and preferences.”
