Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has faced grave allegations recently from Hollywood sweetheart Scarlett Johansson. This is regarding the AI personal assistant voice that Sky, one of the voices in the latest ChatGPT 4.0 model’s “Voice Mode,” sports. According to these accusations, the actress has claimed that this voice released sounds eerily similar to her own from the 2013 sci-fi movie, Her.
However, through his latest statement, Altman has denied all such allegations regarding the same. But what’s surprising is that even while refuting these claims, the company has actually issued a public apology for this new AI voice at the same time — something that has left users and netizens from all around the globe utterly confused about what the company is actually trying to do.
OpenAI Has Released Mixed Statements After Scarlett Johansson’s Claims
First off, for those who may not know, ever since the company released a demo of ChatGPT 4.0 with its “Voice Mode” that included Sky’s voice, it has been under much fire because Scarlett Johansson alleged the company of having apparently used the same voice from that she sported as an AI in her 2013 romance/sci-fi hit Her for the same.
What’s more, Johansson has also revealed (as per what her publicist told NPR) that nine months ago, she was approached by the CEO of OpenAI for this very matter, who proposed to her to allow her voice for this very voice assistant project for ChatGPT as it would be “comforting to people” who aren’t comfortable with AI.
But the Black Widow actress had declined back then, and before they could reconnect to reconsider this decision per Sam Altman’s request, the company launched a demo of Sky’s voice.
This, obviously, left Johansson “shocked, angered and in disbelief,” and brought forward her legal team demanding the company to detail the process it used to develop this voice, as per NPR.
However, Altman is now refuting all of these claims. In a statement shared late on Monday, he reportedly said (via USA TODAY):
The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers.
But that isn’t sitting well with netizens, considering how not only did Altman once previously share in an interview with Salesforce that Spike Jonze‘s Her from 2013 is actually his favorite movie, but also, after the company announced this latest version of ChatGPT, he took to his X handle (@sama) to tweet one single word: her.
Making it even more complicated was Altman’s further statement, which then went on to publicly apologize to Johansson regarding the same. According to NPR, Altman wrote in a statement:
We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson. Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky’s voice in our products. We are sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn’t communicate better.
Needless to say, this situation has gotten as complex and confusing as it could, with the intentions of Altman and the company seeming unsure as of now regarding the matter.
Meanwhile, netizens can’t help but point out just how untrustable this situation has only further launched Altman to be, which, judging from the current turn of events, sounds pretty appropriate.
Netizens React to How This Situation is Unfolding
While some netizens are claiming on X that Altman is no longer to be trusted, others are showing their direct support for Johansson, even calling this situation creepy. Meanwhile, some other netizens are making more sarcastic remarks on this matter. Take a look for yourself:
man watched a Spike Jonze movie and said "I'm gonna completely miss the lesson from this film and make it real."
— Stephen Ford (@StephenSeanFord) May 20, 2024
so basically, the tweet voided the plausible deniability and gave ScarJo the ammo https://t.co/v7G2U140wG
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) May 20, 2024
One more piece of evidence supporting my gut intuition that Sam Altman is not to be trusted.
— Intra-Stellar (@WindDustStars) May 20, 2024
Sam Altman cannot be trusted. No wonder why he was fired from OpenAI last Nov.
— RG (@Tesla_GTownTX) May 20, 2024
imagine showboating comparing yourself to google’s aesthetic and then being exposed for stealing someone’s voice when they explicitly refused to work with you
— arun (@xprunie) May 20, 2024
The last face @sama sees before it fades to black… pic.twitter.com/YTirYbKLM1
— Dustin Burnham (@dustinthedad) May 20, 2024
I support Scarlett Johansson. This is so creepy.
— BullsKickAss (@Bullskickass) May 20, 2024
Make sure to have Sky read it out loud for the full experience.
— shaquille o'atmeal (@crypt0e) May 20, 2024
To put it in a nutshell, Altman is currently on fire thanks to the voice of Sky, and the only thing that could get him out of it would either be removing this new AI assistant voice or simply finding the perfect explanation and reasoning why Johansson’s claims are false to gain netizens’ trust back.
