OpenAI to 'Pause' Voice Linked to Scarlett Johansson

OpenAI says its 'Sky' artificial intelligence voice was made in collaboration with a professional actress and is not meant to sound like film star Scarlett Johansson. Noam Galai / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
OpenAI says its 'Sky' artificial intelligence voice was made in collaboration with a professional actress and is not meant to sound like film star Scarlett Johansson. Noam Galai / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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OpenAI to 'Pause' Voice Linked to Scarlett Johansson

OpenAI says its 'Sky' artificial intelligence voice was made in collaboration with a professional actress and is not meant to sound like film star Scarlett Johansson. Noam Galai / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
OpenAI says its 'Sky' artificial intelligence voice was made in collaboration with a professional actress and is not meant to sound like film star Scarlett Johansson. Noam Galai / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Movie star Scarlett Johansson said Monday she was "shocked" by an OpenAI synthetic voice that sounds like her, which was released after she declined to work with the ChatGPT-maker on such a project.
The artificial intelligence powerhouse headed by Sam Altman said it was working on temporarily muting the Johannson-sounding voice it calls "Sky."
"I was shocked, angered, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets couldn't tell the difference," Johannson said in a statement.
Johannson said Altman in September offered to hire her to work with OpenAI to create a synthetic voice, saying it might provide people comfort engaging with AI.
Altman has previously pointed to the Johansson-voiced character in the movie "Her" -- a cautionary tale about the future in which a man falls in love with an AI chatbot -- as inspiration for where he would like AI interactions to go.
Johannson said Altman insinuated the similarity in voices was intentional when at one point he fired off a single-word tweet on X: "Her."
OpenAI said in a blog post that the "Sky" voice at issue was based on the natural speaking voice of a different professional actress and not meant to sound like Johansson.
"We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinctive voice," OpenAI said in the post.
"Sky's voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson."
OpenAI is working on a way to "pause" Sky as it addresses what appears to be confusion about who it sounds like, the company said on X.
"We've heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky," OpenAI said.
Johansson said she has asked OpenAI for a detailed accounting of how "Sky" was made.
Risk team disbanded
The company explained that it worked with professional voice actors on synthetic voices it named Breeze, Cove, Ember, Juniper and Sky.

But Sky became the focus of attention last week when OpenAI released a higher-performing and even more humanlike "GPT-4o" version of the artificial intelligence technology that underpins ChatGPT.
In a demo, the new version of Sky was at times even flirtatious and funny, capable of seamlessly jumping from one topic to the next, unlike most existing chatbots.
So far in the AI frenzy, most tech giants have been reluctant to overly humanize chatbots.
Microsoft Vice President Yusuf Mehdi told AFP his company, which has a partnership with OpenAI, sought to make sure that AI was not "a he or a she," but rather a "unique entity."
"It should not be human. It shouldn't breathe. You should be able to...understand (it) is AI," he said.
Just days ago OpenAI said it disbanded a team devoted to mitigating the long-term dangers of artificial intelligence.
OpenAI began dissolving the so-called "superalignment" group weeks ago, integrating members into other projects and research.
Company co-founder Ilya Sutskever and superalignment team co-leader Jan Leike announced their departures from the San Francisco-based firm last week.



Apple Ordered by EU Antitrust Regulators to Open up to Rivals

Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store during a media preview, a day ahead of its launch in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store during a media preview, a day ahead of its launch in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
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Apple Ordered by EU Antitrust Regulators to Open up to Rivals

Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store during a media preview, a day ahead of its launch in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store during a media preview, a day ahead of its launch in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

Apple was ordered by EU antitrust regulators on Wednesday to open up its closed ecosystem to rivals, with the latter spelling out details on how to go about it in line with the bloc's landmark rules and where non-compliance could lead to an investigation and fines.

The move by the European Commission came six months after it opened so-called specification proceedings to ensure that the iPhone maker complies with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which seeks to rein in the power of Big Tech.

The first EU order requires Apple to give rival makers of smartphones, headphones and virtual reality headsets access to its technology and mobile operating system so they can connect with iPhones and iPads seamlessly, Reuters reported.

The second EU order sets out a detailed process and timeline for Apple to respond to interoperability requests from app developers.

Apple slammed the EU order, saying it would hurt users and help its rivals.

"Today's decisions wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple's ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don't have to play by the same rules," the company said in an email.

"It's bad for our products and for our European users. We will continue to work with the European Commission to help them understand our concerns on behalf of our users," added Apple.

"With these decision, we are simply implementing the law, and providing regulatory certainty both to Apple and to developers," EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement.

Apple could face an investigation if regulators subsequently find that it has not followed through on the order that could lead to a fine as much as 10% of its global annual sales.