OpenAI founder Sam Altman is at a reputational cross roads
Altman has ridden atop the mystic wave of AI since ChatGPT's launch in late 2022. But now, he is at risk of losing the public's faith.
Six years ago Elon Musk caused incredible reputational damage to himself when, in an act of impulsive petulance, he called a heroic British cave diver a “pedo guy.” It was the first of many PR disasters that caused some to question their fandom of the eccentric billionaire.
Sam Altman this week had just such a moment — thanks to a single-world post on X. "Her", Altman wrote in reference to OpenAI getting a new voice, named Sky, reminiscent of the Scarlett Johansson-voiced AI in the 2013 flick Her.
A little too reminiscent for Johansson. Johansson told NPR that OpenAI had approached her twice about using her voice for the AI assistant. Despite rebuffs, Johansson said, the startup has produced an assistant that sounds "eerily" similar to her own.
OpenAI responded by saying the voice actress behind Sky was cast prior to their initial reach out to Johansson. You can listen to a comparison here to decide for yourself how similar or dissimilar the voices are.
