--- title: "OpenAI Removing Voice From ChatGPT That Sounds Too Much Like Scarlett Johansson" description: "OpenAI is apparently not feeling too flattered about those comparisons to the movie \"Her,\" anymore. On Sunday, the AI startup announced that it was pausing the use of Sky, a voice available for the latest version of ChatGPT that can have spoken conversations in real time, after users pointed out that it sounded like the […]" date: "2024-05-20" modified: "2024-05-20" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-remove-voice-chatgpt-scarlett-johansson" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "chatgpt" - "gpt-4o" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # OpenAI Removing Voice From ChatGPT That Sounds Too Much Like Scarlett Johansson ![The latest ChatGPT update drew comparisons to the film "Her" which stars Johansson, but OpenAI insists it didn't mean to imitate the actress.]() *\Image: Taylor Hill / WireImage / Getty / Futurism\* ## Movie Madness OpenAI is apparently not feeling too flattered about those [comparisons to the movie "Her]()" anymore. On Sunday, the Microsoft-backed startup [announced]() that it was pausing the use of Sky, a voice available for the latest version of ChatGPT that can have spoken conversations in realtime, after users pointed out that it sounded a lot like the actress Scarlett Johansson. In "Her," Johansson voices an AI chatbot named Samantha that the film's melancholic protagonist, played by Joaquin Phoenix, falls in love with after talking to her through his phone and computer. Those parallels didn't go unnoticed by users of GPT-4o's flagship "Voice Mode," who have joked that the Sky voice should be called Samantha. But OpenAI, in its latest blog post, insisted that the similarities are merely a coincidence. "We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinctive voice — Sky's voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice," the blog post read. "To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents." https://twitter.com/OpenAI/status/1792443575839678909 ## Coy Copycat The denial raises more questions than it answers. If Sky isn't an imitation of ScarJo, then why pause the use of the voice? It would seem that this is less a case of buckling to community scrutiny, and more of OpenAI walking on legal eggshells. Johansson, after all, hasn't balked at [suing companies as massive as Disney]() in the past. OpenAI points to the fact that Sky is voiced by a different actress as evidence of its innocence. Of course, that doesn't preclude the actress having been directed to evoke Johansson's likeness in the performance. Whether that's the case, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman has only fueled the comparisons. He's spoken about how "Her" [is one of his favorite sci-fi movies](), calling it "incredibly prophetic." And on the day that GPT-4o was released with "Voice Mode," Altman [cheekily tweeted]() the single word "her" — directly linking the update with the movie. We suspect that if there are any legal troubles brewing related to this — the company's plausible-deniability-speak may be evidence of that — OpenAI will want to handle this behind closed doors. It certainly already has [enough]() [lawsuits]() [on its plate]() already. **More on OpenAI:** *[Machine Learning Researcher Links OpenAI to Drug-Fueled Sex Parties]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()