“That’s an odd reason to remove it”: Everyone’s Confused as OpenAI Removes ChatGPT Voice That Sounded Too Similar to an Avengers Star

Since the advent of AI, it has had a huge impact on our lives, and the entertainment industry is no exception. OpenAI, one of the leading companies in the sector is credited with the release of ChatGPT, which is realized as the biggest catalyst of the AI boom. Recently, ChatGPT made a decision that has confounded a lot of people.

ChatGPT Voice is one of the features of the AI system much like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. It has five voices at work so far, and one of them, known as Sky, sounds a lot like Hollywood superstar, Scarlett Johansson. But recently, OpenAI revealed that they are planning on dropping this particular voice feature from their system.

OpenAI Pauses ‘Sky’ From ChatGPT Voice

ChatGPT recently announced that they were going to pause one of the five voices from its feature. The voice ‘Sky,’ which suspiciously sounds a lot like Avengers actor Scarlett Johansson from HER, will be dropped from their features. And the reason is as dumbfounded as it gets. They are removing Sky because it sounds like Scarlett Johansson. In a statement released on X, OpenAI wrote:

We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky. We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them.

This is definitely a pretty odd reason to completely remove a feature from the system. I mean, we all know an AI version of Johansson’s voice was never going to be a wrong choice. In a blog post, OpenAI revealed that they were unwilling to share who voiced Sky, as they were not going to encroach on their talent’s privacy (via Variety).

To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents… [But they believe] AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice.

Most people though are pretty confused about the whole reasoning behind this decision, with one even saying “Sky is the best voice. This is seriously the worst decision.” But, of course, it’s completely their decision if they want to continue with this feature or not.

Fans React to OpenAI’s Plans to Drop Sky

Fans are understandably confused about this whole thing. While it is fair to say that ChatGPT does not want its AI to mimic a celebrity, it also does not warrant its removal from the system. They, of course, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their opinion on the matter.

That's an odd reason to remove it

— ValiantReaper (@ValiantReaper) May 20, 2024

Why can’t we just have nice things? 😔

— Mona (@RealMona_) May 20, 2024

It didn't really sound like her though. A lot of people just wanted it to, so they could goon to it.

— Matt Jarbo (@mjarbo) May 20, 2024

this is the only option I liked out of the voices too

— Rummy™ (@skipTestDeploy) May 20, 2024

NOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/2k4TqpSwBY

— Vinny Talks (@vinnytalks_) May 20, 2024

Why??? Who wouldn't want to hear a voice similar to Scarlet's?

— Agatha Vega 🏝️ 🫶 (@agathavegaaofc) May 20, 2024

I would rather take Scarlett Johansson’s voice over Siri’s voice any day 😍

— Kireina Kerner (@KireinaKerner) May 20, 2024

OpenAI, addressing the issue, has already revealed that Sky is not an imitation of ScarJo and that another actress is using her own voice for it. which is why, people are confused as to why this issue even needs to be looked into. For now, let’s wait and see how this plays out!