Recently, OpenAI previewed its latest ChatGPT voice, ‘Sky’, which some users couldn’t help but notice sounded very much like Scarlett Johansson, as revealed by Above the Law. Could there be a possible copyright infringement here?
The voice, according to many listeners, closely resembled Johansson from the movie ‘Her’, where she portrayed an AI assistant. The emerging issue is the possible violation of copyright if OpenAI has employed samples of Johansson’s voice to train its new voice model.
Johansson has refuted allegations that she contributed her voice for this project and promptly called in her lawyers after OpenAI released ‘Sky’. She also demanded OpenAI divulge how exactly they created the Sky voice. Subsequently, OpenAI agreed to remove the voice.
A Kentucky Law professor, Brian Frye, questions whether the mere sound of a voice — especially if it’s an impersonation — constitutes grounds for a lawsuit. However, things could get complicated if OpenAI used an algorithmic autotune wrapper to tweak an impersonator’s voice to perfectly match Johansson’s.
A publicity rights claim against OpenAI might be a viable option for Johansson. However, here, she might be facing an uphill battle as core cases in this field, namely ‘Midler v. Ford’ and ‘Waits v. Frito-Lay’, may not apply entirely to her situation. These cases revolved around impersonators being used for endorsements, which doesn’t appear to be the case with OpenAI’s AI voice.
Moreover, unlike singers, an actress’ career isn’t necessarily defined by her voice. This difference might factor into any case Johansson might bring against OpenAI.
Amidst the continuous development of artificial intelligence, one thing is for sure – the legal implications surrounding AI and the protection of individual rights in this context require much-needed clarity and appropriate legislation.