In a series of legal actions spanning seven months, actress Scarlett Johansson has accused both an image-generating app and OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, of misusing her likeness and voice. In October 2023, Johansson's representatives took action against Lisa AI for using genuine footage of her in a social media advertisement that she never approved, featuring an imitated voice. By May 2024, she was accusing OpenAI of copying her voice after she declined an invitation to provide it, an allegation that OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman has rejected. Both cases were handled through lawyers rather than a court ruling.
In the first case, an advertisement posted by Lisa AI on X, formerly known as Twitter, used footage from the Marvel film Black Widow and an imitated voice of Johansson to promote the app's image-generating capabilities. The small print beneath the video stated that the images were produced by the app and had no connection with Johansson. Her team discovered the advertisement on 28 October 2023 and confirmed that she was not a spokesperson for the company, leading to the advertisement's removal.
In the second case, Johansson accused OpenAI of copying her voice after she declined an invitation to provide it for ChatGPT. She claimed that Altman asked her in September 2023 to be the voice of OpenAI's conversational system, but she declined due to personal reasons. Nine months later, friends, family, and the public remarked on how much the newest system, named Sky, sounded like Johansson. OpenAI has since paused the use of Sky's voice in its products out of respect for Johansson and apologized for a lack of communication.
Johansson has called for transparency and new legislation to protect individual rights in the face of growing concerns about artificial intelligence misuse. She told CNBC that the episode forced her to hire legal counsel and warned that anyone's likeness or voice can be used without consent, making the internet virtually lawless.