The OpenAI board was right

Alleged Scarlett Johansson Voice Misuse

• Many see OpenAI’s “Sky” voice as an intentional imitation of Johansson’s AI role in Her, especially given prior outreach to her and the CEO’s “her” tweet.
• Others argue the voice is clearly a different actor and just a generic “flirty American woman”; similarity is inevitable among finite human voices.
• Some think pulling the voice suggests legal worry or bad PR; others say removing it is not an admission of guilt.

Legal Debates: Likeness, Voice, and “Passing Off”

• Multiple comments cite right-of-publicity and voice-misappropriation precedents (e.g., Bette Midler, Tom Waits), arguing that using a soundalike to evoke a specific celebrity and role can be unlawful “passing off.”
• Skeptics question how to define “similar enough,” whether voice can be owned, and warn about slippery slopes for voice actors who naturally resemble famous voices.
• Several note that intent and marketing context (references to Her, timing of permission requests) would be central if litigated; outcome is seen as uncertain.

Data “Theft” and AI Training

• Strong sentiment that OpenAI—and big tech generally—are “built on theft,” repurposing decades of public writing and media without consent or royalties.
• Others counter that using public information for training is akin to humans learning from what they read; distinguishing human learning from large-scale commercial “lossy compression” is contested.
• Comparisons are made to search engines and cable TV; critics say LLMs, unlike search, don’t drive users back to original sources.

Culture, Governance, and Trust

• Many portray the CEO as power- and PR-driven, emblematic of a tech culture that treats “no” as negotiable and normalizes “move fast and break things.”
• Some defend his effectiveness at organizing teams and creating value, while still acknowledging pervasive dishonesty and consent problems.
• The shift from non-profit, “benefit humanity” origins to closed, for-profit behavior intensifies distrust and calls for regulatory or legal intervention.

LLM Value vs. Harm

• Engineers and users describe LLMs as impressive and useful for brainstorming, orientation in new domains, and “where do I start?” moments.
• Others say benefits are overhyped and likely outweighed by harms: content appropriation, energy and water use, labor displacement, and erosion of creative incentives.