Democracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Scarlett Johansson’s ChatGPT face-off confirms our fears about AI

We’re trusting tech companies with the very thing that makes us human.

By
Editorial Writer|
May 22, 2024 at 7:45 a.m. EDT
Scarlett Johansson during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in D.C. on April 27. (Bonnie Cash/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
4 min

Sam Altman has promised creators that ChatGPT comes in peace. This week, he showed us what he really thinks.

The OpenAI chief executive recently introduced a new audio chatbot equipped with five “personas” capable of deciphering confusing questions, telling bedtime stories and engaging in plain old small talk. One thing, however, didn’t seem new at all: the voice of the “Sky” persona. It sounded an awful lot like Scarlett Johansson.