OpenAI stops ChatGPT voice which resembles Scarlett Johansson

OpenAI stops using a ChatGPT voice that sounds like Scarlett Johansson because of concerns about how similar it is to a real person. The company says it will “pause” its use to highlight the selection process for AI voices.

 On Monday, OpenAI announced that it is taking down one of its newest ChatGPT 4o voices because it sounds too much like Scarlett Johansson’s voice.

The public saw a demo of the new artificial intelligence model last week. It can have a realistic voice conversation and interact with text and images.

In the latest version of ChatGPT, there are several voices to choose from. However, users noticed that “Sky,” a voice similar to Scarlett Johansson’s in the 2013 movie “Her,” drew their attention.

Many people said the voice sounded a lot like the actor’s, so OpenAI said they would “pause” the use of the Sky voice.

In a statement, the company said, “We’ve received inquiries about how we selected the voices in ChatGPT, particularly Sky.” “We are using Sky less as we work with them,” the company stated.

The company acknowledged people’s concerns and stated that a thorough casting process led to the selection of the voices used in the model.

OpenAI said in a blog post, “We believe that AI voices should not purposely copy a celebrity’s distinctive voice. Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson; it belongs to a different professional actress using her natural speaking voice.”

However, to protect their privacy, the company wouldn’t say who the actor was.

After the demo, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote on X, “her,” which seemed to be a reference to the same-named 2013 Spike Jonze movie about a man falling in love with his AI assistant, (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).