By Jennifer Saba
NEW YORK – What is the fastest way to garner attention for a new-fangled tech product?
By getting a Hollywood A-lister involved. Scarlett Johansson has accused Sam Altman’s OpenAI of ripping off her voice — in a somewhat eerie copycat of the movie “Her.” The company behind ChatGPT has for now pulled the voice. But the test for artificial intelligence systems is going to start and end with Tinseltown.
The star of “The Avengers” series said in a memo posted Monday on X that she had hired attorneys and is calling on Congress to come up with legislation that protects people’s likeness, work, and identities. Earlier Johansson declined the OpenAI chief executive’s request to participate in the artificial intelligence chat bot. Altman later sent out a cheeky tweet introducing the voice, named Sky, with only the word “her.”
There are other instances in which Hollywood is on the front lines of the war. Amazon.com is in litigation over the movie “Road House” accused of violating copyright protections and using AI to get the film through production. A big reason that actors went on strike for four months last year was to fight for guard rails to safeguard their images and their craft. Deep fakes of mega star Taylor Swift drew a rebuke from the White House.
AI’s success hinges on garnering popularity, and people will engage for the novelty of entertainment. What’s untested is whether large technology firms can get away with using people’s image without paying for it. Without guidelines, laws, and rules, they might as well push it.
Still high-profile actors are best situated to fight them. Not only will they capture headlines, celebrities have enough legal backing to fight large companies. Johansson, after all, successfully settled with Walt Disney over a dispute on a compensation package. But if she and similar stars can’t punch back, there isn’t much hope for the masses.
