Congress is seeking testimony from Scarlett Johansson after the Hollywood star accused OpenAI of using a ChatGPT voice that sounded “eerily similar” to her own despite no deal between them.
A letter sent last week invited Johansson to appear for a Capitol Hill hearing before a House Technology Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
“You recently expressed concerns via social media about the resemblance between your own voice and that of the ‘Sky’ chatbot, recently released as part of OpenAl’s GPT- 40 update,” Mace wrote.
“This hearing would provide a platform for you to share those concerns with House Members, and to inform the broader public debate concerning deepfakes,” she added.
Mace’s office told Axios, which first reported the letter on Monday, that Johansson is unable to make the proposed date of July 9 and would likely be available sometime in October.
Johansson, who voiced an AI chat system in the 2013 film “Her,” said in May she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” upon the reveal of a ChatGPT voice that sounded “eerily similar” to hers.
The actress said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had asked her to provide a voice for the feature, but she declined and so she hired lawyers to reach out to OpenAI when a similar voice feature came out.
OpenAI denied its “Sky” voice was an imitation of Johansson’s voice, insisting it was instead developed with a different professional actress using her “own natural speaking voice.”
Separately, Altman apologized to Johansson “that we didn’t communicate better. He also said, “Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky’s voice in our products.”
In ending her statement about the voice controversy, Johansson also called for more work to be done to address issues associated with advancing technologies beyond just artificial intelligence.
“In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity,” she said.
“I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected,” Johansson concluded.
