Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, Keri Russell: OpenAI’s ‘Sky’ Voice Sparks Imitation Controversy

Hold onto your hats, folks, because the year is and the world of AI is officially more dramatic than an episode of “The Bachelor.” OpenAI, the brains behind the impressive but occasionally sassy ChatGPT, have found themselves in some seriously hot water over their chatbot voice, ‘Sky.’ Turns out, this AI assistant isn’t just good at booking appointments—it might be the vocal doppelganger of some of Hollywood’s leading ladies.

Initially, the buzz around ‘Sky’ was all about its uncanny resemblance to the one and only Scarlett Johansson. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be greeted by that smooth, velvety voice every time they opened their laptop? But just as the internet was getting comfortable with the idea of a pocket-sized Scarlett, things took a turn for the, shall we say, legally complex.

New research out of Arizona State University suggests that Scarlett might not be the only A-lister lending her pipes to ‘Sky.’ The ASU team, those digital detectives, uncovered some pretty convincing evidence that ‘Sky’ also channels the vocal stylings of Anne Hathaway and, get this, Keri Russell. Talk about an all-star lineup.

ASU: AI Whisperers or Conspiracy Theorists?

Now, before we get too far down the rabbit hole, let’s talk about how we even got here. NPR, always on top of the most pressing issues of our time (like rogue AI voices), commissioned ASU’s artificial intelligence lab to put ‘Sky’ under the microscope, or should we say, microphone?

These weren’t your average sound engineers, though. We’re talking forensic voice experts, the kind who could probably identify your Uncle Bob from his snoring alone. They had this massive database of like six hundred actresses’ voices, Scarlett included, naturally. Using some seriously sophisticated AI models—we’re talking algorithms that make your brain hurt—they set out to compare ‘Sky’ to the stars.

‘Sky’ vs. Hollywood: A Vocal Showdown for the Ages

And the results were, to put it mildly, interesting. Picture this: a dimly lit room, lines of code flashing across a screen, and then…BAM! The researchers discovered that ‘Sky’ and Scarlett’s voices were like two peas in a pod, at least according to the AI. We’re talking exceeding the similarity scores of like ninety-eight percent of the other actresses. That’s some statistically significant stuff right there.

But hold on, because the plot thickens. It turns out ‘Sky’ also shares some, shall we say, auditory DNA with Anne Hathaway and Keri Russell. In some of the analyses, ‘Sky’ actually scored higher in similarity to Anne and Keri than to Scarlett. Talk about a plot twist!

Inside the ‘Vocal Tracts’: Unpacking the Science of Sound

Leading this ragtag team of digital sleuths was ASU computer scientist Visar Berisha, who, let’s be real, probably has the coolest job ever. Visar, a total straight shooter, admitted that yeah, ‘Sky’ and Scarlett’s voices are pretty darn similar. But, he was also quick to point out that they’re not totally identical. Think of it like this: identical twins might look the same, but they’ve each got their own thing going on, you know?

To get to the bottom of this vocal mystery, the team decided to go full-on CSI: Voice Analysis. They dove headfirst into the world of ‘vocal tracts’—that’s the fancy scientific term for the size and shape of your throat, mouth, and nasal passages, all the things that make your voice uniquely you.