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Scarlett Johansson has said she was “shocked” and “angered” after OpenAI allegedly recreated her voice without her consent for a new ChatGPT system.

The actress released a statement where she personally criticised the company’s CEO Sam Altman for insinuating she was the voice named ‘Sky’ by posting the word ‘her’ on X, a reference to a film where she voiced an AI which a human fell in love with.

“Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system,” the 39-year-old Oscar nominee said.

“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 AI. He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people.”

She went on to say that eventually for personal reasons she declined his offer then, nine months later, her attention was drawn to how much the “Sky” voice sounded like her.

“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,” Johansson said.

“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.

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“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.”

Sam Altman hero teaser
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Sam Altman

On Monday OpenAI released a statement saying it would “pause” the use of a ChatGPT voice after users noticed it sounded like the actress.

OpenAI said: “We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky.

“We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them.”

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The artificial intelligence (AI) company offers five voices that can speak generated answers through its ChatGPT service.

Scarlett Johansson’s statement in full

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 AI.

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.

OpenAI earlier denied it intentionally copied Johansson and said it believed “AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice”.

The New York Times sued OpenAI at the end of last year over allegations it, and its biggest investor Microsoft, unlawfully used the newspaper’s articles to train and create ChatGPT.

The suit alleges that the AI text model now competes with the newspaper as a source of reliable information and threatens the ability of the organisation to provide such a service.

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Obamas planned to see Reiners the night they were killed, says ex-US first lady

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Obamas planned to see Reiners the night they were killed, says ex-US first lady

Michelle Obama says she and husband Barack Obama were due to see director Rob Reiner and his photographer wife Michele Reiner the night they were killed.

The former US first lady has paid tribute to the couple, who were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on Sunday night.

The Reiners’ son, Nick, 32, was arrested and will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents.

Michelle Obama revealed the couple had been due to meet the Reiners the night they died. File pic: AP
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Michelle Obama revealed the couple had been due to meet the Reiners the night they died. File pic: AP

Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ms Obama said of the Hollywood couple: “We’ve known them for many, many years, and we were supposed to be seeing them that night.”

Rob Reiner was active in politics, supporting liberal causes.

Ms Obama’s comments came after Donald Trump suggested the 78-year-old died because of his anti-Trump views.

He referred to the director as “tortured and struggling” and said he and his 68-year-old wife had died “reportedly due to the anger he caused” by opposing the Republican president.

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Reiners were ‘not deranged’

Ms Obama said: “Let me just say this, unlike some people, Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.

“They are not deranged or crazed. What they have always been are passionate people in a time when there’s not a lot of courage going on.”

File pic: AP
Image:
File pic: AP

The former first lady highlighted how caring the couple were; stating they cared about their family, country and fairness and equality.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump suggested the Reiners died “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as Trump derangement syndrome”.

“He was known to have driven people crazy by his raging obsession of President Donald J Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before.”

Rob Reiner with Hillary Clinton. Pic: Reuters
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Rob Reiner with Hillary Clinton. Pic: Reuters

Rob Reiner was known for directing some of the most-loved films of the 1980s and 1990s, including the rom-com When Harry Met Sally and the legal thriller A Few Good Men.

Tributes pour in

Former US presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton as well as former US speaker Nancy Pelosi also paid tribute to the director.

Mr Obama added: “Beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people – and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action.”

Michelle Obama spoke to Jimmy Kimmel. Pic: AP
Image:
Michelle Obama spoke to Jimmy Kimmel. Pic: AP

Among the other high-profile figures paying tribute was actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who played Reiner’s ex-wife in the hit comedy series New Girl. She said: “I will always remember them as they lived. Passionate. Political. Surrounded by family and friends.”

US actor Kevin Bacon, who starred in A Few Good Men, appeared emotional in a video he shared on Instagram, praising the director for giving him the role.

Bacon said: “The making of that movie was one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had on a set.

“It was a magical time. So, I’m just sending love to everybody that knew him, because I know that everyone’s hurting today.”

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Reiner’s other films included The Princess Bride (1987), Ghosts Of Mississippi (1996) The Story Of Us (1999), The Magic Of Belle Isle (2012) and LBJ (2016).

Actress and activist Jane Fonda said she was “reeling with grief” in a post on Instagram, while Stephen King, whose books were adapted into Reiner’s 1986 Stand By Me and 1990’s Misery, said he was “horrified and saddened” by the death of the Reiners.

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Doctor sentenced over Matthew Perry’s death

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Doctor sentenced over Matthew Perry's death

A doctor has been sentenced to eight months of home confinement over the fatal overdose of Friends star Matthew Perry after pleading guilty to a drugs charge.

Mark Chavez, whose sentence included three years of supervised release, addressed the judge on Tuesday, saying he had recently lost a loved one and understood the grief that Perry’s death caused.

“I just want to say my heart goes out to the Perry family,” he added.

Mr Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, who supplied ketamine to Perry.

Plasencia contacted Chavez, 55, after learning that Perry, whose history of drug addiction was well documented, was interested in obtaining ketamine.

In text messages, Plasencia told Chavez – who previously ran a ketamine clinic – “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out”.

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Matthew Perry in 2015. File pic: Reuters
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Matthew Perry in 2015. File pic: Reuters


Chavez, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, admitted in his plea agreement to diverting ketamine from his former clinic to sell to Plasencia.

He also admitted to making false representations to a wholesale ketamine distributor in a bid to get more of the drug for Plasencia, submitting a bogus prescription in the name of a former patient without her knowledge or consent.

Plasencia was introduced to Perry in September 2023 by one of his patients, who described the actor as a “high profile person” willing to pay “cash and lots of thousands” for ketamine.

The same day they met, the doctor contacted Chavez, and drove to Costa Mesa to purchase $795 (£590) in ketamine vials and tablets, syringes, and gloves from him.

Plasencia then drove to Perry’s Los Angeles home, injected the star with ketamine, and left at least one more vial of ketamine with Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, who paid the doctor $4,500 (£3,350).

Plasencia is said to have distributed 20 vials and multiple tablets to Iwamasa and Perry, netting $57,000 (£42,500) from 30 September to 12 October, 2023, despite the going price of ketamine being roughly $15 (£11) per vial.

Salvador Plasencia. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Salvador Plasencia. Pic: Reuters

The 44-year-old was jailed for two-and-a-half years on 3 December after pleading guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, having already surrendered his California medical license.

However, he did not supply the dose that killed Perry, who was found drowned in his hot tub at home after taking ketamine in October 2023.

Iwamasa, 60, admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine, despite having no medical training, including multiple times on the day he died.

He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and will be sentenced in January.

Also charged is Erik Fleming, 54, who admitted in court documents that he supplied the ketamine that killed Perry, having distributed 50 vials to Iwamasa – half of them four days before Perry died.

He further stated he obtained the drug from 42-year-old Jasveen Sangha, a dual US-UK citizen, nicknamed the “Ketamine Queen”.

Fleming pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

Sangha pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

They will be sentenced in January and February respectively.

Perry had been taking ketamine legally as a treatment for depression, but sought more of the drug and started taking it unsupervised in the weeks before his death, acquiring it illegally from different sources.

The actor starred in 10 seasons of Friends, from 1994 to 2004, alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, as well as appearing in the 2021 reunion show.

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Brown University shooting: New image and video released of ‘person of interest’

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Brown University shooting: New image and video released of 'person of interest'

Police investigating a deadly shooting at a US university have released a new image and video clips of a “person of interest”.

It comes as the manhunt for a gunman who killed two Brown University students and injured nine more in a classroom continued for a fourth day.

The shooting on Saturday afternoon unfolded on the first floor of the engineering and physics building while exams were taking place.

A law enforcement official said the attacker fired more than 40 rounds from a 9mm handgun in Providence, Rhode Island.

The new image showed a man dressed in dark clothing, wearing a black hat and face mask, walking down a street that day.

In all of the videos made public, the suspect’s face was either covered by a mask or turned away. He is described as stocky and about 5ft 8in (173cm) tall.

Authorities have released a video timeline showing the movements of the person of interest, including of him before the attack, in the hope that someone might recognise him.

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The clips showed a man walking briskly, and at one point running, between 2pm and 3pm local time, along several different streets, about a block away from the building where the attack would later take place.

The shooting happened at 4.03pm, and another clip showed the same person from a distance walking from the building’s car park towards the street, even as police cars with flashing lights arrived at the scene.

The final clip showed the man walking along that street about three minutes after the shooting.

Authorities on Sunday released a man who had been detained in connection with the attack.


Manhunt under way for university gunman

Read more:
Video of ‘person of interest’ in Brown shooting

Police have said there was no clear video of the gunman from inside the building.

Attorney general Peter Neronha said there were cameras in the newer part but “fewer, if any, cameras” where the shooting happened “because it’s an older building”.

The attack and the gunman’s escape have sparked concerns about campus safety, including the absence of security cameras, and led to calls for improved door locks.

More details about victims emerge

The students who were killed were Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Birmingham, Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia.

Ms Cook was vice president of the College Republicans club at Brown University and Mr Umurzokov, whose family came to the US from Uzbekistan when he was a child, was an aspiring neurosurgeon.

The Reverend R Craig Smalley described Ms Cook as “an incredibly grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and “lifted up those around her”.

In a GoFundMe post, Mr Umurzokov’s family described him as “incredibly kind, funny, and smart”.

“He always lent a helping hand to anyone in need without hesitation, and was the most kind-hearted person our family knew,” they said.

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