Sky's the limit: OpenAI 'sent in the clone' despite Scarlett saying NO 🗣️

OpenAI apparently cloned Scarlett Johansson's voice after she refused her consent to create the "Sky" voice in GPT-4o. They're getting well-deserved flak about this ethical mis-step. (audio; 1:18)

Photo of blue sky with clouds by Karen Smiley. All rights reserved.

Lots of hubbub this week about how OpenAI created the “Sky” voice that somehow sounded just like Scarlett Johansson, despite her clearly-expressed NO when her consent was sought. (Good for her for fighting back!! Here’s the source NPR link for anyone wanting additional information about the incident.)

Unauthorized voice cloning appears to be how OpenAI did it. (See this

6 'P's in AI Pods

article from April 29, 2024 for details on voice cloning with AI, and how it’s both easy and unethical to do without authorization.)

NCAA athletes already have the rights to their NIL (name, image, and likeness). Musicians in Tennessee now do too, thanks to the ELVIS act. Time for the rest of us to have the same rights enshrined in US law. Maybe this misuse of Scarlett’s voice by OpenAI will be the one-step-too-far incident that creates enough blowback to finally drive through a national-level ELVIS act equivalent.

What do you think?

Here’s what a few others on Substack are saying about the unauthorized cloning of Scarlett Johansson’s voice for OpenAI’s Sky, even though #ScarlettSaidNo:

Gary Marcus

- “The OpenAI board was right”

Michael Spencer

- “OpenAI Stole Scarlett Johansson’s Voice for GPT-4o”

Andrew Maynard

- “Still a ridiculous mis-step”

The OpenAI board was right

OpenAI Stole Scarlett Johansson's Voice for GPT-4o

For reference, our April 29 article on voice cloning with generative AI:

AI Ventriloquism: Send in the clones