OpenAI on Monday said it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices that 91裸聊视频淗er91裸聊视频� actor Scarlett Johansson says sounds 91裸聊视频渆erily similar91裸聊视频� to her own.
In a on the social media platform X, OpenAI said it is 91裸聊视频渨orking to pause91裸聊视频� Sky 91裸聊视频� the name of one of five voices that ChatGPT users can chose to speak with. The company said it had 91裸聊视频渉eard questions91裸聊视频� about how it selects the lifelike audio options available for its flagship artificial intelligence chatbot, particularly Sky, and wanted to address them.
Among those raising questions was Johansson, who famously voiced a fictional, and at the time futuristic, AI assistant in the 2013 film
Johansson issued a statement saying that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached her in September asking her if she would lend her voice to the system, saying he felt it would be 91裸聊视频渃omforting to people91裸聊视频� not at ease with the technology. She said she declined the offer.
91裸聊视频淲hen I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,91裸聊视频� Johansson said.
She said OpenAI 91裸聊视频渞eluctantly91裸聊视频� agreed to take down the Sky voice after she hired lawyers who wrote Altman letters asking about the process by which the company came up with the voice.
OpenAI had moved to debunk the internet91裸聊视频檚 theories about Johansson in a blog post accompanying its earlier announcement aimed at detailing how ChatGPT91裸聊视频檚 voices were chosen. The company that it believed AI voices 91裸聊视频渟hould not deliberately mimic a celebrity91裸聊视频檚 distinctive voice91裸聊视频� and that the voice of Sky belongs to a 91裸聊视频渄ifferent professional actress.91裸聊视频� But it added that it could not share the name of that professional for privacy reasons.
In a statement sent to The Associated Press following Johansson91裸聊视频檚 response late Monday, Altman said that OpenAI cast the voice actor behind Sky 91裸聊视频渂efore any outreach91裸聊视频� to Johansson.
91裸聊视频淭he voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson91裸聊视频檚, and it was never intended to resemble hers,91裸聊视频� Altman said. 91裸聊视频淥ut of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky91裸聊视频檚 voice in our products. We are sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn91裸聊视频檛 communicate better.91裸聊视频�
San Francisco-based OpenAI first rolled out voice capabilities for ChatGPT, which included the five different voices, in September, allowing users to engage in back-to-forth conversation with the AI assistant. 91裸聊视频淰oice Mode91裸聊视频� was originally just available to paid subscribers, but in November, OpenAI that the feature would become free for all users with the mobile app.
And ChatGPT91裸聊视频檚 interactions are becoming more and more sophisticated. Last week, OpenAI said the can mimic human cadences in its verbal responses and can even try to detect people91裸聊视频檚 moods.
OpenAI says the newest model, dubbed GPT-4o, works faster than previous versions and can reason across text, audio and video in real time. In a demonstration during OpenAI91裸聊视频檚 May 13 announcement, the AI bot chatted in real time, adding emotion 91裸聊视频� specifically 91裸聊视频渕ore drama91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� to its voice as requested. It also took a stab at extrapolating a person91裸聊视频檚 emotional state by looking at a selfie video of their face, aided in language translations, step-by-step math problems and more.
GPT-4o, short for 91裸聊视频渙mni,91裸聊视频� isn91裸聊视频檛 widely available yet. It will progressively make its way to select users in the coming weeks and months. The model91裸聊视频檚 text and image capabilities have already begun rolling out, and is set to reach even some of those that use ChatGPT91裸聊视频檚 free tier 91裸聊视频� but the new voice mode will just be available for paid subscribers of ChatGPT Plus.
While most have yet to get their hands on these newly announced features, the capabilities have conjured up even more comparisons to the Spike Jonze91裸聊视频檚 dystopian romance 91裸聊视频淗er,91裸聊视频� which follows an introverted man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with an AI-operating system (Johansson), leading to many complications.
Altman appeared to tap into this, too 91裸聊视频� simply the word 91裸聊视频渉er91裸聊视频� on the social media platform X the day of GPT-4o91裸聊视频檚 unveiling.
Many reacting to the model91裸聊视频檚 demos last week also found some of the interactions struck a strangely flirtatious tone. In one posted by OpenAI, a female-voiced ChatGPT compliments a company employee on 91裸聊视频渞ocking an OpenAI hoodie,91裸聊视频� for example, and in another the chatbot 91裸聊视频渙h stop it, you91裸聊视频檙e making me blush91裸聊视频� after being told that it91裸聊视频檚 amazing.
That91裸聊视频檚 sparked some conversation on the gendered ways critics say tech companies have long used to develop and engage voice assistants 91裸聊视频� dating back far before the latest wave of generative AI advanced the capabilities of AI chatbots. In 2019, the United Nations91裸聊视频� culture and science organization built into default female-voiced assistants (like Apple91裸聊视频檚 Siri to Amazon91裸聊视频檚 Alexa), even when confronted with sexist insults and harassment.
91裸聊视频淭his is clearly programmed to feed dudes91裸聊视频� egos,91裸聊视频� The Daily Show senior correspondent Desi Lydic said of GPT-4o in a segment last week. 91裸聊视频淵ou can really tell that a man built this tech.91裸聊视频�
Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated Press
