Many pioneering pieces of fiction in the 21st century have come to accurately define the relationship between humans and AI before the contemporary explosion of modern intelligent systems. These include the film ‘Ex-Machina’, various episodes of ‘Black Mirror’ and, of course, ‘Her’.
“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference.”
Prescience
Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson as the AI agent Samantha, ‘Her’ was a fresh and mature approach to the way that humans and AI may coexist in the future.
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Ten years after its release, with ChatGPT gaining popularity and transformer-based AI improving on every level, Altman approached Johansson’s agent to ask permission to use her voice for the marketing of GPT-4 on its planned launch in 2024.
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Johansson declined, but Altman pushed on with a voice, dubbed ‘Sky’, that was near-indistinguishable from the actor’s, essentially suggesting the technology that OpenAI had created was on a par with the fictional tech in the film. That’s why, in a statement, Johansson expressed her anger and intention to get the voice taken down.
Future nostalgia
Johansson considered the offer, with Altman telling her that her voice “could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives”. It would also “help consumers to feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and AI”.
She hired legal counsel, and OpenAI agreed, after two letters, to take down the ‘Sky’ voice. The incident raised deep concerns over the early potential for AI to replace the likeness of actors, which could undermine their careers and livelihoods.
It was also a dark reminder that deepfakes are becoming increasingly easy to create, and that it’s not only harmful users, but AI companies and executives that can so brazenly co-opt another person’s identity for their own purposes.
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