The tech company has denied intentionally copying the actress’s voice, despite the CEO appearing to suggest they had in a social media post.

Scarlett Johansson has said she was “shocked” and “angered” after OpenAI allegedly recreated her voice without her consent for a new ChatGPT system.

The actress personally criticised the company’s CEO Sam Altman for insinuating she was the voice named ‘Sky’ by posting the word “her” on X, a reference to a film where she voiced an AI which a human fell in love with.

Mr Altman approached the 39-year-old Oscar nominee to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system last September but Johansson declined for personal reasons, she said in a statement.

“He told me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers to feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and AI. He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people.”

Even though she declined the offer, nine months later, Johansson’s attention was drawn to how much OpenAI’s Sky voice sounded like 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,” Johansson said.

Image:Sam Altman

On 13 May, Mr Altman posted the word “her” on X, which Johansson said was a sign the similarity was intentional. The actress claimed it was a reference to a 2013 film – called Her – where she voiced a chat system that forms an intimate relationship with a human, played by Joaquin Phoenix.