Lionel Richie trademarks voice over AI fears - The Telegraph
Public figures are increasingly filing trademark applications to protect their voices and signature phrases from unauthorized AI cloning and replication
- Incident date
- May 2024
- Target
- Scarlett Johansson
In May 2024, actress Scarlett Johansson publicly confronted OpenAI after discovering that their ChatGPT voice assistant featured a soundalike that mimicked her own. This incident highlighted the growing friction between high-profile celebrities and the rapid development of generative AI technology.
What happened
Scarlett Johansson expressed shock and anger after OpenAI released a voice named Sky for their ChatGPT product, which users and researchers noted bore a striking resemblance to her performance as an AI companion in the 2013 film Her. Johansson stated that she had explicitly turned down an opportunity to provide her voice for the project prior to the release.
Initially, OpenAI defended the product by detailing their voice creation process and claiming there was no intentional connection to the actress. However, following public scrutiny and the resignation of several employees, the company eventually removed the Sky voice from its platform.
This incident has spurred a broader trend among public figures to seek legal protections against the unauthorized use of their likenesses. Lionel Richie has recently filed trademark applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office for his singing voice and iconic song lyrics. Similarly, Taylor Swift has sought to trademark specific spoken phrases, and Matthew McConaughey has taken steps to protect his famous movie clips. These legal maneuvers represent an attempt by artists to use trademark law as a barrier against AI technology, aiming to stop the reproduction of voices that are similar enough to their own to be mistaken for their brand.