Scarlett Johansson: OpenAI Asked to License Her Voice for GPT-4o. She Said No. They Launched 'Sky' Anyway and It Sounded Exactly Like Her. Altman Tweeted 'her'. She Hired Lawyers.
In September 2023, Sam Altman personally asked Scarlett Johansson to voice ChatGPT's upcoming voice assistant. She declined. Two days before OpenAI's May 2024 GPT-4o demo he asked again. She declined again. OpenAI launched the demo with a voice named 'Sky' that was widely perceived as identical to Johansson's performance in 'Her' — while Altman tweeted a single word: 'her'. Johansson said she was 'shocked, angered, and in disbelief,' hired Davis Wright Tremaine, and OpenAI pulled the Sky voice within 48 hours. OpenAI insists the voice actress was cast independently; Johansson's statement implied otherwise. It remains the most legally watched voice-cloning controversy in AI history.
Scarlett Johansson: OpenAI Asked to License Her Voice for GPT-4o. She Said No. They Launched 'Sky' Anyway and It Sounded Exactly Like Her. Altman Tweeted 'her'. She Hired Lawyers.
In September 2023, Sam Altman personally asked Scarlett Johansson to voice ChatGPT's upcoming voice assistant. She declined. Two days before OpenAI's May 2024 GPT-4o demo he asked again. She declined again. OpenAI launched the demo with a voice named 'Sky' that was widely perceived as identical to Johansson's performance in 'Her' — while Altman tweeted a single word: 'her'. Johansson said she was 'shocked, angered, and in disbelief,' hired Davis Wright Tremaine, and OpenAI pulled the Sky voice within 48 hours. OpenAI insists the voice actress was cast independently; Johansson's statement implied otherwise. It remains the most legally watched voice-cloning controversy in AI history.
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