Despite the similarity, OpenAI did not copy Scarlett Johansson’s voice. This was made known by the Washington Post, which also specifies that the voice of Sky – the virtual assistant of the latest version of ChatGPT – belongs to an actress hired before CEO Sam Altman contacted Johansson. The news was confirmed to the US newspaper by the hired actress’s agent who preferred to remain anonymous for the safety of her client. In recent days, OpenAi had put the virtual assistant on hold after protests, including legal ones, from the Hollywood star, according to which the voice used by the AI giant resembled that of Samantha, the female interface played by her over ten years ago in the movie Her. On that occasion, Johansson – who said she was “shocked, incredulous and angry” – made it known that she had never given her consent despite having been contacted twice by Altman himself. The latter, however, dismissed any accusation: «Sky’s statement about her is not about her and there was never the intention of making it look like her. We chose the actress behind Sky before contacting Scarlett. Nonetheless, we have decided to put Sky on hold out of respect for her”, was the message from the CEO. The dispute with the Hollywood star is just the latest headache for Sam Altman. A few days ago, his company announced the dissolution of the team dedicated to mitigating the long-term dangers of artificial intelligence. Its members have been integrated into other projects and research.
