OpenAI’s ‘Skye’ sounds a lot like ScarJo, according to voice researchers

Researchers at Arizona State University found that Scarlett Johansson’s voice really does sound like OpenAI’s “Skye” Currently closed gpt-4o voice, According to nprwhich tasked the comparison. After using an AI model developed to analyze vocal similarities to compare Skye to nearly 600 other actresses, the lab reportedly found that Johansson’s voice was “more similar to Skye’s than 98% of the other actresses.”

But the model also “often” found that the voices of Anne Hathaway and Keri Russell were more similar to Skye than Johansson’s, said Professor Visar Berisha, who led the analysis. npr Johansson’s voice is “similar, but possibly not identical.” Berisha’s other works include Origin Story ,PDF), an FTC Challenge winning microphone Which watermarks sound recordings as man-made.

Still, the researchers reportedly concluded that there were “undeniable similarities” between the voices. For example, the analysis showed that Skye and Johansson’s vocal tract lengths would be “similar” (“vocal tract” means the throat, mouth, and nasal passages that will produce a certain sound).

Some of the differences included that Skye’s voice was slightly higher pitched and more expressive than Johansson’s, while her voice was “a little more breathy” than the model’s, according to the report. nprWe asked Berisha for more details about his analysis and its limitations, and we will update if he responds. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Both Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI And CTO Mira Murat Sky has denied that it aims to sound like Johansson. Following a GPT-4o demo earlier this month — after which Altman published a one word post On which was written simply “his” — Johansson said Altman had asked him to provide the voice for the model, which he declined, and tried again two days before the demo.