A-list Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has ripped into OpenAI and founder Sam Altman after she claimed her voice was used as the basis for a new AI chatbot.
The Black Widow actress said she was "shocked" and "angered" by the move by OpenAI and criticised Altman personally for referencing a film where she voiced an AI character.
Johansson added that nine months earlier and for personal reasons she had declined to be a voice for ChatGPT even though she had asked by Altman.
"When I heard the released demo, 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 could not tell the difference," Johansson said.
Statement from Scarlett Johansson on the OpenAI situation. Wow: pic.twitter.com/8ibMeLfqP8
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) May 20, 2024
In a statement, Altman said that OpenAI has now paused the use of the character, called Sky, "out of respect for Ms Johansson" but again denied the voice was based on the actress.
"The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson's, and it was never intended to resemble hers," said Mr Altman.
"We cast the voice actor behind Sky's voice before any outreach to Ms Johansson."