OpenAI puts flirty ChatGPT voice that sounds like ScarJo in ‘Her’ on hold
CNN
OpenAI says it’s hitting the pause button on a synthetic voice released with an update to ChatGPT that prompted comparisons with a fictional voice assistant portrayed in the quasi-dystopian film “Her” by actor Scarlett Johansson.
OpenAI says it’s hitting the pause button on a synthetic voice released with an update to ChatGPT that prompted comparisons with a fictional voice assistant portrayed in the quasi-dystopian film “Her” by actor Scarlett Johansson. The retreat by OpenAI follows a backlash to the artificial voice, known as Sky, which critics described as being overly familiar with users and sounded as if it had emerged from a male developer’s fantasy. It was widely mocked for its flirtatious tone. “We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky,” OpenAI said in a post on X Monday. “We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them.” The voice in question is not derived from Johansson’s, the company said in a blog post Sunday, but instead “belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice.” OpenAI said that with each of its AI voices, it tried to create “an approachable voice that inspires trust,” one that contains a “rich tone” and is “natural and easy to listen to.” The ChatGPT voice mode that used the Sky voice had not yet been widely released, but videos from the product announcement and teasers of OpenAI employees speaking with it went viral online last week. Some who heard Sky derided it as perhaps too easy to listen to. Last week, the controversy inspired a segment on The Daily Show in which senior correspondent Desi Lydic described Sky as a “horny robot baby voice.”
Last-minute errands always seem to pop up on Christmas and Christmas Eve, whether it’s buying a quick present or picking up one last ingredient.
King Charles III has ended royal warrants for Cadbury and Unilever, which owns brands including Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s, in a blow to the household names.
While businesses across the US are fretting that President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of new tariffs could mean a massive hit to their bottom lines, at least one industry is gearing up for the exact opposite.
Back in 2022, when the labor market was so hot that Beyoncé even released a song about it, Americans were job hopping in large numbers, boosting their salary in the process.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has steered the world’s most powerful central bank during a tumultuous period for the US economy, from the pandemic to a historic bout of inflation shortly after.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has agreed to sell its Australian cable TV unit Foxtel to British-owned sports network DAZN for 3.4 billion Australian dollars ($2.1 billion) including debt, cutting the media empire’s exposure to a business upended by streaming platforms.
Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to join forces, forming world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels.
The strike protests a lack of contract negotiations, including wage increases for union baristas.
This year was brutal for a number of well-known companies, including Red Lobster, True Value and Big Lots.
Last-minute holiday shoppers may want to give their digital carts a hard look, as Amazon workers remain on strike on the final weekend before Christmas.
Campaigners have accused Facebook parent Meta of inflicting “potentially lifelong trauma” on hundreds of content moderators in Kenya, after more than 140 were diagnosed with PTSD and other mental health conditions.