OpenAI didn’t copy Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT, records show

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Timeline and Washington Post Findings

  • WaPo reports the “Sky” actress was cast and recorded months before OpenAI first contacted Scarlett Johansson.
  • Casting call sought non‑union actors; multiple sources say neither Johansson nor Her were mentioned to the actress.
  • The actress (via her agent) says Sky is her natural voice and she’d never been compared to Johansson before this controversy.
  • Many see this as undercutting the specific allegation that OpenAI trained directly on Johansson’s voice or hired an explicit impersonator; others suspect “parallel construction” to cover a prior intent.

Similarity of the Voice

  • Some listeners say they immediately thought of Johansson in Her during the demo; others insist Sky sounds clearly different (more like a generic US “valley girl” or like other actresses).
  • Several note strong priming effects: once Her and Johansson were invoked (including by tweets), people may “hear” a stronger resemblance than is there.

Legal Questions: Right of Publicity

  • Large subthread on personality/right‑of‑publicity law vs copyright.
  • Precedents cited: Bette Midler and Tom Waits winning suits over sound‑alike ads; Vanna White and Crispin Glover likeness cases.
  • One side: contacting Johansson twice, then using a similar voice and referencing Her shows intent to trade on her likeness; likely strong civil case and probable settlement.
  • Other side: Sky is a different human using her own voice; similarity plus a vague movie tweet is not enough, and banning similar‑sounding actors would be absurd and unfair.

Ethics, Trust, and PR

  • Repeated complaints that OpenAI and its CEO have a pattern of “ethically murky but technically legal” behavior and poor transparency, so they don’t get benefit of the doubt.
  • Others argue internet mobs ignore exculpatory facts and that hate for big AI/Altman is driving confirmation bias.
  • Debate on why Sky was pulled: some see it as near‑admission of guilt; others as PR containment or “respect” while facts are clarified.
  • A minority speculate the controversy is a deliberate “no bad publicity” marketing play.

Impact on Voices, AI, and Work

  • Heated discussion on whether voices are truly unique and what it means to “own” a voice or performance style.
  • Voice actors in the thread express fear that AI plus weak legal protections will destroy their livelihoods.
  • Counter‑view: imitative styles are normal in art; over‑protecting celebrity likeness will stifle innovation and unfairly constrain non‑famous actors who happen to sound similar.