In an unexpected turn of events, acclaimed actor Scarlett Johansson has publicly voiced her indignation at OpenAI, a research facility renowned for its work in artificial intelligence, due to an uncanny imitation of her voice by ChatGPT, the facility’s language prediction model. In a statement released on Monday, Johansson disclosed her refusal of a proposal by OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, to use her voice for ChatGPT. Nevertheless, she expressed her shock and disbelief following her encounter with a ChatGPT audio sample that, according to her, bore an unsettling resemblance to her own voice.
Altman’s offer hints at the ongoing efforts within OpenAI to polish and perfect the voice capabilities of their AI systems. But the incident raises serious questions about the boundaries of AI capabilities and the ethical implications of replicating human voices without consent. Although this instance might appear to be an isolated event, it highlights a broader quandary over the potential exploitation of identities in the rapidly-evolving AI landscape.
For a more detailed look into Johansson’s encounter with ChatGPT’s eerily similar voice sample, head over to the full story on Law360.