Scarlett Johansson Suggests OpenAI CEO as Marvel Villain Amid AI Controversy

Black Widow Star Scarlett Johansson Thinks OpenAI CEO Would Make a Good Marvel Villain - IGN

Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson has suggested OpenAI CEO Sam Altman could moonlight as a Marvel villain. In a new interview with The New York Times, Johansson reflected on her public dispute with Altman, wherein she accused the tech magnate of using an imitation of her voice for OpenAI's ChatGPT system Sky after users claimed it mimicked the AI virtual assistant in the 2013 film Her, for which Johansson provided the voice. The actress told the outlet she felt "so angry" about the situation because she had "actively avoided being a part of the [AI] conversation, which was what made it so disturbing" and "crazy." Asked if she thought Altman would make a good Marvel villain, Johansson responded: "I guess he would -- maybe with a robotic arm." Allegations that Sky's voice was too close to the Marvel movie star's flared up in May when OpenAI revealed its new GPT-4o model as part of a livestream event. Altman even posted the word "her" on X/Twitter and, in a separate follow-up post, likened the new voice and video mode to something audiences have seen in movies. Johansson shared a statement at the time, saying OpenAI had previously contacted her in an attempt to hire her to provide her voice for ChatGPT 4.0. However, she denied the request "after much consideration and for personal reasons." Those reasons became clearer in the new interview as she recalled the incident. "I felt I did not want to be at the forefront of that," Johansson said. "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," she concluded, "and you see the effects all over, especially with young people. This technology is coming like a thousand-foot wave." Issues with such technologies have dominated headlines in recent months. Johansson previously took legal action against an AI app and its parent company for illegally using her name and likeness, while actor Morgan Freeman recently thanked fans for calling attention to the "unauthorized" use of AI to imitate his voice. Photo by Juan Carlos Rojas/picture alliance via Getty Images.

Black Widow Star Scarlett Johansson Thinks OpenAI CEO Would Make a Good Marvel Villain

Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson has suggested OpenAI CEO Sam Altman could moonlight as a Marvel villain. In a new interview with The New York Times, Johansson reflected on her public dispute with Altman, wherein she accused the tech magnate of using an imitation of her voice for OpenAI's ChatGPT system Sky after users claimed it mimicked the AI virtual assistant in the 2013 film Her, for which Johansson provided the voice. I just felt it went against my core values. The actress told the outlet she felt "so angry" about the situation because she had "actively avoided being a part of the [AI] conversation, which was what made it so disturbing" and "crazy." Asked if she thought Altman would make a good Marvel villain, Johansson responded: "I guess he would -- maybe with a robotic arm." Allegations that Sky's voice was too close to the Marvel movie star's flared up in May when OpenAI revealed its new GPT-4o model as part of a livestream event. Altman even posted the word "her" on X/Twitter and, in a separate follow-up post, likened the new voice and video mode to something audiences have seen in movies. Johansson shared a statement at the time, saying OpenAI had previously contacted her in an attempt to hire her to provide her voice for ChatGPT 4.0. However, she denied the request "after much consideration and for personal reasons." Those reasons became clearer in the new interview as she recalled the incident. "I felt I did not want to be at the forefront of that," Johansson said. "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," she concluded, "and you see the effects all over, especially with young people. This technology is coming like a thousand-foot wave." Issues with such technologies have dominated headlines in recent months. Johansson previously took legal action against an AI app and its parent company for illegally using her name and likeness, while actor Morgan Freeman recently thanked fans for calling attention to the "unauthorized" use of AI to imitate his voice. Photo by Juan Carlos Rojas/picture alliance via Getty Images. Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.

Scarlett Johansson hits out at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

If CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman fancies trying his luck on the big screen, there may be an opening for him... The head of the world leader in generative AI has made a formidable enemy out of Marvel's Black Widow herself, Scarlett Johansson, who has suggested that Altman could have potential as a big bad. Johansson recently spoke to The New York Times about technology and Altman, confirming that he could make a good Marvel villain, "maybe with a robotic arm." The quip comes against the backdrop of an ongoing feud between the two figures, centred around the alleged nonconsensual usage of her image and voice. In May, Altman's company released its latest generative AI model called ChatGPT 4.0, which came with a setting named Sky. It so happens that Sky sounded very familiar to Johansson - "eerily similar" according to the actress. Altman posted "her" on X, which many saw as a reference to Johansson's role as an AI operating system in the 2013 Spike Jonze movie, Her. Johansson released a statement saying that she was "shocked" and "angered" that OpenAI mimicked her voice when she originally turned down the company's offer to be the voice of its ChatGPT system. She added that Altman used a voice so close to her own that "friends and news outlets could not tell the difference." According to Johansson, Altman reached out to her in September 2023 about the company hiring her to provide the voice for ChatGPT 4.0. She declined for "personal reasons," but Altman allegedly contacted her agent and "asked me to reconsider". "Before we could connect, the system was out there." She confirmed her lawyers contacted OpenAI to have the voice of Sky pulled down. OpenAI ended up complying amid backlash 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." In the NY Times interview, 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," Johansson said about turning down OpenAI's original request. "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 added. The actress went on to call 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." "I think technologies move faster than our fragile human egos can process it," she concluded, "and you see the effects all over, especially with young people. This technology is coming like a thousand-foot wave." Conjuring thousand-foot-waves could be one of the evil Dr. Altman's superpowers, should he or Marvel get any ideas following Johansson's comments. Johansson currently is starring in the rom-com Fly Me to the Moon and has recently confirmed that she will be starring in the latest Jurassic World entry.

Scarlett Johansson doesn't forgive Sam Altman for stealing her voice for ChatGPT - Softonic

I must admit that what bothers me the most about generative artificial intelligence is not that they steal content from other artists, but rather the impunity they believe they have to do so. Boasting and saying "Well, after all, artists also learn by copying" is not the master phrase that many believe it to be. And in this same line of thought, in ChatGPT, they plagiarized Scarlett Johansson's voice, thinking that there would be no consequences. Fortunately, they were very wrong. Obviously, the attempt by ChatGPT and, more specifically, its CEO, Sam Altman, was to make a nod to the movie Her, but without spending a single dollar to obtain the rights of the actress. The surprising thing is that no one expected that Johansson would end up demanding explanations and holding a grudge in her heart for a long time. In fact, in an interview, Johansson has stated that Altman could make a good villain for Marvel, "maybe with a robotic arm." Oh! Her anger is understandable, because she already refused to collaborate with them once because it went against her values, but she didn't tell anyone, except her husband, about the focus of artificial intelligence in her life. And then came the stab. Does Johansson see anything positive in AI? Well, considering she calls it "a dark black hole you can never escape from," I'd say no. And that's because, as she asks, how long will it be until someone starts making hyper-realistic pornography of Hollywood stars? And how is it distinguishable from reality? The actress is right to ask these questions, because it's exactly the moral debate we'll be having in a couple of years. And it's going to be very, very complex to resolve.