OpenAI has recently faced allegations from actress Scarlett Johansson, who claimed that the AI company copied her voice for their ChatGPT assistant, Sky. However, records and interviews have debunked these claims, showing that OpenAI did not clone Johansson's voice. Documents and recordings reveal that an actress was hired to create the Sky voice months before OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, even contacted Johansson.
The casting call for the project specified that the actors should be nonunion and have voices that are “warm, engaging, and charismatic,” but there was no mention of replicating Johansson's voice. The actress who voiced Sky has a natural tone that closely matches the AI-generated voice, as confirmed by her agent and initial voice test recordings. The name Sky was chosen to evoke a cool, airy, and pleasant sound, not to mimic Johansson's character from the movie "Her."
In response to Johansson's claims, OpenAI paused the use of Sky and published a blog post detailing the development process of their AI voices. Altman stated that OpenAI never intended for Sky to resemble Johansson and emphasized that a voice actor had been cast before any contact with Johansson was made. This transparency aims to clear the air and assure users of the integrity behind OpenAI's voice development process.
Despite the controversy, it's important to note that public perception can be easily swayed by high-profile allegations. While some users might still believe in the resemblance, the evidence provided by OpenAI and the involved parties strongly suggests otherwise. This incident underscores the need for clear communication and documentation in the rapidly evolving field of AI technology.
