Scarlett Johansson is still concerned about the potential ramifications of unfettered artificial intelligence.
“Well, I just don’t believe the work I do can be done by AI,” Johannson, 40, told The Sunday Times in an interview published on Saturday, June 28. “I don’t believe the soulfulness of a performance can be replicated.”
The actress went on to clarify that while she does see some benefits to the technology, it can also threaten people’s perception of reality — and in many cases already has.
“Well, as a tool for film-making it has evolved and I don’t really believe that audiences are concerned about that,” she explained to the outlet. “Perhaps I’m wrong, but as a tool for creatives who don’t see it as a replacement for anything, I don’t think AI is threatening.”
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She continued, “But when it threatens to blur the line between truth and reality? That’s a threat. The bigger picture — about how we human beings, with fragile egos, can continue to have the trust that we have to have in one another, to continue as society. It’s a moral compass. We move around the world every day just knowing we have to trust in some basic reality that we all agree on. AI threatens the foundation of that, and that to me is very haunting.”
In 2024, Johansson revealed that she had rejected an offer to lend her voice to OpenAI’s ChatGPT voice, “Sky,” telling Us Weekly in a statement she said no for “personal reasons.”
“Last September, I received an offer from [OpenAI CEO] Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system,” Johansson explained at the time. “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 Al. He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people. After much consideration and for personal reasons, declined the offer.”
She continued, “Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named ‘Sky’ sounded like m. 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.”
The actress then claimed that Altman approached her to voice Sky once again just before it went public.
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“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,” Johansson said. “As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAl, setting out what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the ‘Sky’ voice. Consequently, OpenAl reluctantly agreed to take down the ‘Sky’ voice.”
Johansson concluded: “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 took down Sky on May 19. Shortly after, the company shared a blog post claiming that Sky was a real actress, not computer-generated.
“We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice — Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice,” the post said. “To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents.”
Since then, she has asked the federal government to step in and better regulate the use of AI, particularly regarding deepfakes.
“I have unfortunately been a very public victim of A.I., but the truth is that the threat of A.I. affects each and every one of us,” Johansson said in a statement to People after a deepfake circulated featuring her and several celebrities in defense of Israel amid its ongoing war in Gaza. “There is a 1000-foot wave coming regarding A.I. that several progressive countries, not including the United States, have responded to in a responsible manner. It is terrifying that the U.S. government is paralyzed when it comes to passing legislation that protects all of its citizens against the imminent dangers of A.I.”
She continued, “I urge the U.S. government to make the passing of legislation limiting A.I. use a top priority; it is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large.”