OpenAI did not copy the voice of the famous Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson for the ChatGPT chatbot. This was reported by The Washington Post with reference to people involved in the voice acting process and company documents.
When OpenAI announced a casting call for a secret voiceover project for ChatGPT last year, it had several requirements. According to them, actors should not be members of trade unions, they should be between 25 and 45 years old, and their voices should be warm, attractive, and charismatic.
At the same time, the publication notes that the artificial intelligence company did not require the creation of a clone of actress Scarlett Johansson. In addition, the actress was hired to provide the voice of Sky a few months before the offer made to Scarlett Johansson.
The Washington Post also added that the natural voice of the actress who voiced Sky sounds identical to the artificial voice of ChatGPT.
As you know, the scandal erupted because the artificial Sky voice in ChatGPT resembled the voice of a movie star. The public drew attention to this, and OpenAI decided to stop using Sky's voice.
Meanwhile, the actress also reacted to the situation. She said she was shocked and had to hire a lawyer. Scarlett Johansson also said that last year, OpenAI CEO offered her to voice an audio function for ChatGPT, but she refused the initiative.
Sam Altman, on the other hand, said that the voice of Sky did not belong to the actress and was not intended to resemble Scarlett Johansson.
The SAG-AFTRA actors' guild sided with the actress and supported her in this situation. The guild's reaction is important, as it has been protecting actors from the use of AI during negotiations with Hollywood studios.