Hollywood actors guild SAG-AFTRA has joined Scarlett Johansson in her beef against OpenAI amid accusations of the AI firm using her voice to power one of its text-to-speech chatbots.
In a press release on Monday, the actors' guild spoke out against the "unauthorized digital replication" of Johansson's voice as it calls for a "federal legislation that would protect their voices and likenesses."
Protection from Hollywood executives abusing AI was among the primary petitions SAG-AFTRA raised during last year's labor strike, a protest that might seem to be less successful than intended as evidenced by the recent events.
Scarlett Johansson 'Angered' Over OpenAI's Unauthorized Use of Her Voice
The whole issue sparked after OpenAI unveiled its latest chatbot model GPT-4o, equipped with five audio-interacting voice assistants.
One of the AI personas, "Sky," was quickly noted to be "eerily similar" to Johansson's voice in the film "Her," a movie about a man forming an intimate relationship with an AI that Johansson played.
It did not help that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made a post that seemed to reference the movie a few days before the showcase.
Johansson, who was known for going into lengthy legal battles against big companies like Disney, was "shocked, angered, and in disbelief" of finding her voice in the AI even after supposedly declining the company's earlier offers to use her likeness for one of its projects.
OpenAI insisted that the voice belongs to a "different professional actress" who lent her vocals to power the AI.
The company did not disclose the identity of the actress, claiming it was to "protect their privacy."
As of writing, the AI firm has temporarily paused "Sky" as it enters conversations with Johansson's team to "take the feedback seriously and hear out the concerns," The Verge reported.
Hollywood Celebrities Speak Out Against AI Misuse
Following the initial controversy on the AI voice assistant, more Hollywood celebrities are coming forward to denounce the alleged abuse of the technology against actors and performers.
Johansson's fellow "Avengers" actor Mark Ruffalo posted on X (formerly Twitter) warning that "this is just the beginning."
This is just the beginning. Time to go out and hug a tree.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) May 21, 2024
Article: “ChatGPT suspends voice as actor speaks out against OpenAI” https://t.co/lguTpuS0ZB
It can be remembered that OpenAI has earlier been reported as starting discussions with Hollywood studio executives on potential uses of its AI video generator Sora in film and show production.
Several celebrities have also spoken out against the growing number of deepfakes using their likenesses to promote fake advertisements, products, and even online misinformation.
In response, talent agencies have started archiving their actors' likenesses into a digital vault so that only authorized personnel and clients can access them.
