Johansson deplores 'eerily similar' ChatGPT voice

The voice "was never intended to resemble" Johansson's, OpenAI's Sam Altman said in a statement

(Image credit: Zoulerah Norddine / AFP via Getty Images)

published 21 May 2024

What happened

Scarlett Johansson said Monday she was "shocked" and "angered" when OpenAI debuted a new voice for ChatGPT that "sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends" couldn't "tell the difference." She said she had twice turned down requests from OpenAI's Sam Altman to license her voice for ChatGPT 4, and "OpenAI reluctantly agreed to take down the 'Sky' voice" after her lawyers got involved.

Sky's voice "was never intended to resemble" Johansson's, Altman said in a statement late Monday. Open AI cast the Sky voice actor "before any outreach" to Johansson, but "out of respect" for her, "we have paused using Sky's voice."

After OpenAI's May 13 demo, a lot of people said Sky's "coquettish" voice "bore an uncanny resemblance to Johansson's character in the 2013 movie 'Her,'" an AI assistant, The Washington Post said. "You can't unhear it," said The New York Times. Also, "Altman has professed his love of 'Her'" and "posted the word 'her'" on X after the announcement.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.