“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 voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between technology companies and creators and help consumers feel comfortable about the seismic shift in relation to humans and intelligence.” Artificial He said he felt my voice would be comforting to people.
After much thought and for personal reasons, I rejected the offer. Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public noticed how similar I was to the latest system called “Sky”.
When I heard the demo released, I was shocked, angry, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would go with a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that even my closest friends and the media couldn’t tell the difference. Mr. Altman even hinted that the resemblance was intentional, tweeting one word “she” — a reference to the movie in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human.
Two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 beta was released, Mr. Altman called my agent and asked me to reconsider. Before we could communicate, the system was in place.
As a result of their actions, I was forced to appoint legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAI, explaining what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the “Sky” sound. Consequently, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to remove the “Sky” sound.
At a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and protecting our image, our work, and our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity. I look forward to a solution in the form of transparency and appropriate legislation to help ensure the protection of individual rights.
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