Scarlett Johansson has spoken out against OpenAI and deepfake technology, saying it was “so disturbing” and she was “so angry” after the company seemingly mimicked her voice for its ChatGPT system Sky.
The actor made headlines earlier this year when she issued a public statement saying OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, had contacted her in September 2023 to provide the voice for Sky, in an ode to her role in the Spike Jonze film Her, but she had declined for “personal reasons”. In May, as the company released Sky, Altman shared a tweet that simply read “her”.
After Johansson’s public statement, and having her lawyers contact OpenAI to have the voice of Sky pulled, OpenAI did so but maintained that “Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice”.
Altman later said the actor voicing Sky was hired before he approached Johansson to be an additional, sixth voice, but apologised to Johansson and said they had paused Sky “out of respect for” her.
Speaking to the New York Times, Johansson said she had “actively avoided being a part of the [AI] conversation, which was what made it so disturbing. I was like, ‘How did I get wrapped up in this?’ It was crazy. I was so angry.”
“I felt I did not want to be at the forefront of that,” she added. “I just felt it went against my core values. I don’t like to kiss and tell. He came to me with this and I didn’t tell anybody except my husband … I also felt for my children it would be strange. I try to be mindful of them.”
Johansson went on to describe deepfake technology as a “dark wormhole you can never climb your way out of”.
“Once you try to take something down in one area, it pops up somewhere else. There are other countries that have different legislation and rules. If your ex-partner is putting out revenge, deepfake porn, your whole life can be completely ruined,” she said.
“I think technologies move faster than our fragile human egos can process it, and you see the effects all over, especially with young people. This technology is coming like a thousand-foot wave.”
Asked if Altman could make for a good Marvel villain, she said: “I guess he would – maybe with a robotic arm.”
Johansson’s public battle with OpenAI came three years after her legal battle with Disney over the release of her Marvel movie Black Widow, which was released in theatres and on streaming service Disney+ during the pandemic. Johansson claimed her contract contained a stipulation that Black Widow be released exclusively in theatres, arguing that her fees were based on the box office performance of the film and that Disney’s hybrid release would impact her compensation.
Disney’s initial response was unexpectedly combative, taking the unusual step of revealing Johansson’s upfront fee of $20m. Johansson responded by calling the studio “misogynistic”.
The two parties eventually settled for an undisclosed amount but Deadline reported Disney would pay Johansson more than US$40m (£29.7m, A$59.5m).
Speaking to the New York Times about that fight, Johansson said: “I don’t hold a grudge [against Disney]. I think it was just poor judgment and poor leadership at that time. It just felt very unprofessional to me, the entire ordeal. And honestly, I was incredibly disappointed, especially because I was holding out hope until, finally, my team was like, ‘You have to act’.”
