OpenAI uses Scarlett Johansson's voice imitation; taken down after threat of legal action

After actor Scarlett Johansson threatened Open AI's founder Sam Altman with legal action for using her voice imitation for ChatGPT 4.0 system, the artificial intelligence company has decided to pause the feature.

For the unversed, Scarlett Johansson had said that Altman approached her to use her voice for the ChatGPT AI assistant 'Sky'. She said in an official statement she declined the offer "after much consideration and for personal reasons."

She adds that she was "shocked, angered and in disbelief" that the released demo sounded "eerily similar" to her that her close ones. She further adds that Altman insinuated that the similarity was intentional as he tweeted a single word 'her', an apparent reference to the 2013 Joaquin Phoenix film where Scarlett lent her voice to the chat system Samantha.

Warning of a legal action, Scarlett sought an "appropriate legislation" to stop such deepfakes. Subsequently, the voice system has been taken down.