Throughout her career, Scarlett Johansson has portrayed several legendary roles, but she turned down one major job as she felt it went against her moral principles. The Vicky Cristina Barcelona actress disclosed that she was once approached to give voice to an OpenAI chatbot . Johansson explained her decision against the role and said, “[I] actively avoided being a part of the [AI] conversation, which was what made it so disturbing. I was like, ‘How did I get wrapped up in this?’ It was crazy. I was so angry.”
As reported by Unilad , she added, “I felt I did not want to be at the forefront of that. I just felt it went against my core values. I don’t like to kiss and tell.” The actress further said, “He [ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman] came to me with this and I didn’t tell anybody except my husband … I also felt for my children it would be strange. I try to be mindful of them.”
During the interview, Johansson also warned about the dangers of deepfake technology , referring to it as a “dark wormhole” from which it is practically difficult to escape. Deepfakes are dangerous for everyone, but they are particularly dangerous for public personalities, even though they are forbidden in many nations. Giving an example, Johansson said, “If your ex-partner is putting out revenge, deepfake porn, your whole life can be completely ruined.” Furthermore, she argued that technology is currently advancing more quickly than humans can keep up with, which is especially affecting young people. She said, “This technology is coming like a thousand-foot wave.”
Back in May this year, Johansson voiced her anger after it was reported that OpenAI used her voice without permission for a new ChatGPT feature . She was especially upset by this because she had turned down an offer to contribute her voice to the project in the past. The actress also voiced her frustration with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the incident. However, in response to her claims, Altman clarified that Johansson was not the voice of the AI character Sky. He also stated that they did not intend to mimic her. Altman further revealed that the voice actor for Sky was selected before any talks with Johansson happened.
To show respect for Johansson, the company chose to pause Sky’s voice even after they clarified everything from their end. In addition to this, Altman also apologized and acknowledged that there had been unclear communication, as reported by the Daily Mail . Speaking of AI, Johansson’s Fly Me To The Moon co-star Channing Tatum also expressed his worries about AI’s effect on employment. According to Sky News , he once voiced concern that AI would displace a great number of workers, causing a mass loss of jobs as technology takes over more jobs.
