OpenAI's PR Crisis
The? excitement around OpenAi’s?ChatGPT-4o?launch was generally unbridled?last week—but?enthusiasm for its voice was short-lived.?Right now,?OpenAI has its hands full with?a PR crisis?thanks to their introduction of "Sky,"?a?new voice?for ChatGPT reminiscent of Scarlett Johansson’s voice in the 2013 movie Her.
Her, in which?Joaquin Phoenix’s character falls in love with an AI assistant voiced by Johansson, is?Sam Altman's favorite film. So when the "Sky" voice emerged on ChatGPT this past week,?users were primed to call out?just how much it resembled Johansson's voice. Predictably—considering?the opposition?artists and other creatives have held toward AI—the actress?responded unfavorably, criticizing OpenAI for using her likeness after?explicitly telling them no?when they had reached out to her back in September 2023 (when voice capabilities?were first being introduced?to OpenAI).
In her statement, Johansson publicly confirmed that she has hired legal counsel to address the matter, which?seems to have gotten?OpenAI's attention?(or at least the attention of its attorneys).?The?company?has since taken "Sky" down?and?issued?a statement?asserting that the voice?was?never intended?to sound like Johansson and claiming that the team developed the voice long before reaching out to her. Many, however, have pointed to?Altman's post to X?a week prior as?seemingly?self-incriminating.
Why it matters:?OpenAI's growth?and the coverage it has received of both its successes and blunders may be boosting public awareness about previously “inside baseball” marketing trade concerns. Topics?like legal provenance,?intellectual property ownership,?and?how each relate to?celebrity endorsements?are?becoming part of the cultural conversation.?(Johannson’s husband, SNL star Colin Jost, for instance,?went viral this weekend?for his candid reaction to a joke on the prompter regarding his wife's voice.)?Such instances and the?ensuing reactions from the?broader?public demonstrate?that increased media literacy?may create new?opportunities for?brands to participate in?accessible discourse?about important but previously esoteric subjects.
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