SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A San Francisco-based artificial intelligence startup has paused the use of one of its chatbots after being accused of mimicking a celebrity. The chatbot, which is named “Sky,” is one of the voices heard on OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform.
Users apparently found Sky’s voice similar to that of actress Scarlett Johansson. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, OpenAI announced it was pausing the use of Sky to address the issue.
“We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky,” the company tweeted. “We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them.”
OpenAI also said in a blog post that it believes “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 post continued.
Sky is one of several voices available on ChatGPT. Others include “Breeze,” “Cove,” “Ember” and “Juniper.”
The voices “are sampled from voice actors we partnered with to create them,” OpenAI said.
The company does not share the name of the voice talent used to create its chatbots. However, it says it pays voice talent above top-of-market rates and partners with well-known, award-winning casting directors and producers to find voice talent.
Characteristics the company said it looks for in voice talent include:
- Actors from diverse backgrounds or who could speak multiple languages
- A voice that feels timeless
- An approachable voice that inspires trust
- A warm, engaging, confidence-inspiring, charismatic voice with rich tone
- Natural and easy to listen to
In what could be characterized as a bizarre instance of life imitates art, Johansson once voiced the role of an AI virtual assistant in the 2013 movie “Her.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared to reference the film in a cryptic tweet last week that read simply, “her.”