Scarlett Johansson Rebukes OpenAI Over ‘Eerily Similar’ ChatGPT Voice
Actress was ‘shocked, angered and in disbelief’ when she heard AI voice; company says AI voices shouldn’t mimic a celebrity’s
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Actress Scarlett Johansson criticized OpenAI over a ChatGPT voice she says is “eerily similar” to her own.
The tech company said Monday it was pausing use of the voice, known as Sky, so it could address questions about how it chose the ChatGPT voices. Many people online have drawn comparisons between Sky and Johansson, who voiced an artificial-intelligence assistant in the 2013 sci-fi romance “Her.” The actress said in a statement her closest friends couldn’t tell the difference.
Johansson said OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman wanted to hire her last year to provide her voice for ChatGPT’s current system. She declined. When the actress heard Sky, one of five voices the company offers for its AI tool, she said she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” that Altman would use a voice so similar to hers.
Johansson said her lawyers asked Altman and OpenAI for more details on how they created Sky.
“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,” Johansson said.
The voice of Sky was never intended to resemble Johansson, Altman said in a statement Monday evening.
“We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson,” he said. “Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky’s voice in our products.”
In a blog post Sunday, the company said it picked the five voices from more than 400 submissions from actors, looking for voices that sounded timeless and were easy to listen to.
OpenAI said Sky was the natural voice of another actress whom it hired and wasn’t an imitation of Johansson. It wouldn’t name the actress, citing privacy reasons.
The conflict with Johansson adds to the challenges confronting OpenAI, which has been sued by authors, artists and media companies for allegedly using their material without permission or payment. It also serves as a distraction at a time when OpenAI is trying to highlight new products and move beyond its leadership crisis last fall, when the company’s then-board of directors fired Altman for failing to be “consistently candid.” Altman was quickly reinstated as CEO.
OpenAI announced an updated ChatGPT voice feature a week ago. It builds on a product released in September that allows users to talk to its AI tool instead of type and hear responses in five different voices. OpenAI said users can have a more humanlike conversation with the new version, which responds almost instantaneously and can switch quickly between emotional tones.
The updated feature is part of a new AI system , called GPT-4o. It is the company’s latest attempt to attract more users and dominate the market for generative AI technology. The feature will be available to users who pay for ChatGPT-Plus, which costs $20 a month.
At the announcement last week, Altman likened the voice feature to something only seen in movies.
The CEO said in a speech last year that he and other OpenAI executives found inspiration in “Her,” which starred Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely man who falls in love with the voice assistant Samantha, voiced by Johansson. OpenAI employees posted references to the movie on X after the May 13 voice announcement. Altman posted a one-word tweet : “her.”
—Deepa Seetharaman contributed to this article.
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King Living has unveiled a modular version of its Aura Sofa, bringing greater flexibility to the sculptural design collection as demand grows for furniture that can adapt to changing lifestyles.
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Australian furniture brand King Living has expanded its Aura Collection with the launch of a new modular sofa designed to blend contemporary aesthetics with adaptable living.
The Aura Sofa builds on the success of the Aura Island range, first introduced in 2023, which included indoor and outdoor sofas as well as fixed and swivel occasional chairs.
The latest evolution introduces modular functionality to the collection, allowing homeowners to configure the sofa to suit a variety of spaces and uses.
As living spaces continue to evolve, particularly in urban environments where flexibility is increasingly valued, furniture designers are placing greater emphasis on products that can adapt over time.
King Living says the new Aura Sofa has been developed with this trend in mind, enabling customers to create corner, L-shaped or U-shaped layouts, while also allowing additional modules to be added as needs change.
King Living founder David King said the original Aura concept began as an exploration of sculptural design before being reimagined as a modular system.
“Aura began as an exploration of sculptural form. Now, we’ve brought modularity into that design language, giving the freedom to reimagine your space with a modular design made for flexibility,” he said.
The collection’s defining feature remains its soft, flowing silhouette, with curved forms replacing traditional angular sofa designs.
The company describes the sofa as a response to changing lifestyles, where living rooms increasingly serve multiple purposes, from entertaining guests and family gatherings to quiet reading corners and work-from-home spaces.
Its rounded profile and minimalist aesthetic are intended to enhance the flow of contemporary interiors while maximising available space. According to the company, the design is equally suited to compact apartments and larger open-plan homes.
“Today, living space is both a luxury and a constraint. Aura is our response, a purposeful design that proves when intention and fluidity converge, the result can feel both expansive and refined,” King said.
Beyond aesthetics, the new sofa incorporates several engineering features synonymous with the King Living brand.
These include the company’s Postureflex steel suspension system, extra-high pocket springs and its signature steel frame, which is backed by a 25-year warranty. The company says the design has been engineered to deliver long-term comfort and durability.
Sustainability has also been a focus of the design. Each module features a removable cover that can be professionally cleaned, repaired or replaced individually, reducing the need to replace an entire sofa and potentially extending the product’s lifespan.
The Aura Sofa is available made to order in a range of premium fabrics and European leathers, allowing customers to tailor the piece to different interior styles and colour palettes.
Designed, manufactured and sold exclusively by King Living, the Aura Sofa launched in showrooms and online early this month, marking the latest addition to the Australian company’s growing portfolio of modular furniture designs.
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