Johansson, Scarlett

Subterms

    Latest story

    150 Shares129 Views

    Scarlett Johansson Said No, but OpenAI’s Virtual Assistant Sounds Just Like Her

    by

    Last week, the company released a chatbot with an option that sounded like the actress, who provided the voice of an A.I. system in the movie “Her.”Days before OpenAI demonstrated its new, flirty voice assistant last week, the actress Scarlett Johansson said, Sam Altman, the company’s chief executive, called her agent and asked that she consider licensing her voice for a virtual assistant.It was his second request to the actress in the past year, Ms. Johannson said in a statement on Monday, adding that the reply both times was no.Despite those refusals, Ms. Johansson said, OpenAI used a voice that sounded “eerily similar to mine.” She has hired a lawyer and asked OpenAI to stop using a voice it called “Sky.”OpenAI suspended its release of “Sky” over the weekend. The company said in a blog post on Sunday that “AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice — Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice.”For Ms. Johansson, the episode has been a surreal case of life-imitating art. In 2013, she provided the voice for an A.I. system in the Spike Jonze movie “Her.” The film told the story of a lonely introvert seduced by a virtual assistant named Samantha, a tragic commentary on the potential pitfalls of technology as it becomes more realistic.Last week, Mr. Altman appeared to nod to the similarity between OpenAI’s virtual assistant and the film in a post on X with the single word “her.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 113 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      Scarlett Johansson’s Statement About Her Interactions With Sam Altman

      by

      The actress released a lengthy statement about the company and the similarity of one of its A.I. voices.Here is Scarlett Johansson’s statement on Monday:“Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system. 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 A.I. He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people. After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer. Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named ‘Sky’ sounded like me.“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. Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word, ‘her’ — a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human.“Two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released, Mr. Altman contacted my agent, asking me to reconsider. Before we could connect, the system was out there. As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAI, setting out what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the ‘Sky’ voice. Consequently, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to take down the ‘Sky’ voice.“In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity. I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected.” More

    • 100 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      Loneliness Is a Problem That A.I. Won’t Solve

      by

      When I was reporting my ed tech series, I stumbled on one of the most disturbing things I’ve read in years about how technology might interfere with human connection: an article on the website of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz cheerfully headlined “It’s Not a Computer, It’s a Companion!”It opens with this quote from someone who has apparently fully embraced the idea of having a chatbot for a significant other: “The great thing about A.I. is that it is constantly evolving. One day it will be better than a real [girlfriend]. One day, the real one will be the inferior choice.” The article goes on to breathlessly outline use cases for “A.I. companions,” suggesting that some future iteration of chatbots could stand in for mental health professionals, relationship coaches or chatty co-workers.This week, OpenAI released an update to its ChatGPT chatbot, an indication that the inhuman future foretold by the Andreessen Horowitz story is fast approaching. According to The Washington Post, “The new model, called GPT-4o (“o” stands for “omni”), can interpret user instructions delivered via text, audio and image — and respond in all three modes as well.” GPT-4o is meant to encourage people to speak to it rather than type into it, The Post reports, as “The updated voice can mimic a wider range of human emotions, and allows the user to interrupt. It chatted with users with fewer delays, and identified an OpenAI executive’s emotion based on a video chat where he was grinning.”There have been lots of comparisons between GPT-4o and the 2013 movie “Her,” in which a man falls in love with his A.I. assistant, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. While some observers, including the Times Opinion contributing writer Julia Angwin, who called ChatGPT’s recent update “rather routine,” weren’t particularly impressed, there’s been plenty of hype about the potential for humanlike chatbots to ameliorate emotional challenges, particularly loneliness and social isolation.For example, in January, the co-founder of one A.I. company argued that the technology could improve quality of life for isolated older people, writing, “Companionship can be provided in the form of virtual assistants or chatbots, and these companions can engage in conversations, play games or provide information, helping to alleviate feelings of loneliness and boredom.”Certainly, there are valuable and beneficial uses for A.I. chatbots — they can be life-changing for people who are visually impaired, for example. But the notion that bots will one day be an adequate substitute for human contact misunderstands what loneliness really is, and doesn’t account for the necessity of human touch.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 75 Shares119 Views

      in Elections

      Scarlett Johansson Shares Her Beauty Regimen

      by

      Plus: a new hotel in Oxford, England, door knobs with personality and more recommendations.Step by StepFrom Sunscreen to Lip Balm, Scarlett Johansson’s Favorite Skin Care and Makeup ProductsLeft: Scarlett Johansson, actress, co-founder of the skincare brand the Outset and Prada ambassador. Right: clockwise from top left: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade, $21, anastasiabeverlyhills.com; Lancôme Bi-Facil Double Action Makeup Remover, $39, lancome-usa.com; Goop Beauty Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub Shampoo, $55, goop.com; Prada Beauty Monochrome Hyper Matte Lipstick in B05 Fauve, $50, Sephora.com; The Outset Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser, $32, theoutset.com; Dior Backstage Flash Perfector Concealer, $32, Dior.com; The Outset Restorative Niacinamide Night Cream, $54, theoutset.com. Left: courtesy of The Outset. Right: courtesy of the brandsIn the morning I wash my face with The Outset’s Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser and then I use the Firming Vegan Collagen Prep Serum and Nourishing Squalane Daily Moisturizer. My last step is our sunscreen coming out this month. It’s super hydrating so you get the protection and skin care benefits. At night I use the cleanser and Restorative Niacinamide Night Cream. I wish I knew about dermaplaning sooner. I do it with a Tweezerman Facial Razor and my skin feels so soft after.I like Molton Brown body washes — my husband and I share the Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel one. I like the Goop Microderm Instant Glow Body Polish, too. Sometimes I use their Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub Shampoo. I just switched over to using Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector because my hair has had a lot of breakage from getting it colored.I usually use Dior Backstage Flash Perfector Concealer, Diorshow Maximizer 4D Lash Primer and Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara. I sometimes mix a few drops of the Dior concealer with our serum as a sheer cover. I’ll do my brows with an Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade. I don’t usually wear lipstick in the daytime but sometimes at night I’ll use Charlotte Tilbury’s lipstick in Very Victoria or Pillow Talk. When I went to the Prada show in Milan they handed out their new makeup and it’s gorgeous. The Monochrome Hyper Matte lipsticks are stunning. I loved the first Prada makeup back in the day, so I was pretty excited that they relaunched. I’ve been using Lancôme Bi-Facil Double Action Makeup Remover forever. I have very sensitive skin and that’s one product that doesn’t burn and removes all of my makeup after filming.My husband just bought me a great Gabriela Hearst perfume she made with the niche fragrance house Fueguia 1833 called Paysandú. The Outset Botanical Barrier Rescue Balm started out as a lip balm but I was using it on my cuticles and flyaways, so we made it enormous. In the summer, I use it as a moisturizer, lip balm, everything.I don’t really know how to do my hair that well. I don’t blow dry it or anything like that. I just started seeing Dana Ionato at Sally Hershberger for my color and I’ve liked working with her because the color grows out well.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More