US House wants Scarlett Johansson to testify in OpenAI feud
Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson has been invited by the US House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee to testify at a hearing on July 9. The hearing in question will focus on the broader issues surrounding the "uses and abuses" of deepfake technology. This comes a month after Johansson expressed shock and anger after OpenAI released a voice that she believed sounded "eerily similar" to her own.
Why does this story matter?
The voice, named Sky, was part of the ChatGPT model, which was introduced as part of OpenAI's GPT-4o update. Sky aside, OpenAI introduced four new voice capabilities: Breeze, Cove, Ember, and Juniper. According to the company, these voices were "sampled from voice actors." However, when similar-sounding Sky was released without Johansson's involvement, she hired lawyers. Notably, the Marvel actor has previously declined OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's offer to provide a voice.
Hearing aims to offer Johansson platform to 'share concerns'
A letter dispatched last week extended an invitation to Johansson to testify at a Capitol Hill hearing led by Nancy Mace, who chairs the House Technology subcommittee. The hearing aims to offer Johansson a platform to voice her concerns to House Members and contribute to the broader discourse on deepfakes. According to reports from Axios, Johansson won't be able to attend the proposed date of July 9 but is likely available sometime in October.
Allegations made by Johansson over 'similar voice'
Johansson, known for her role in Her, a film where she voiced an AI chat system, expressed her concerns on social media about the similarity between her voice and that of the Sky chatbot. She stated that the resemblance was so close that even her closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference. OpenAI, however, has denied that the Sky voice was intended to mimic Johansson's voice.
OpenAI's response and Johansson's call for action
OpenAI has maintained that the Sky voice was developed with a different professional actor using her "own natural speaking voice." Altman also apologized to Johansson for poor communication and announced that they had stopped using Sky's voice in their products out of respect for her. Johansson, in response, called for more action to address issues related to advancing technologies beyond just artificial intelligence.
