Scarlett Johansson, among the most recognizable voices and faces in Hollywood, did not like the fact that publicity generated with the‘Artificial intelligence (AI) cloned his voice. And she didn’t like it enough to sue the company.
How AI used Scarlett Johansson’s voice without her consent
It all started when an image editor called Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar published an advertisement lasting approximately 22 seconds online. The commercial showed the face and real voice of Scarlett Johansson (shooting scenes from the backstage of the film Black Widow). However, soon after, the cloned voice began sponsoring the application.
At the end of the advertisement the app developer, Convert Softwarehad inserted a text that it specified that the images were produced by Lisa AI and that they had nothing to do with the actress. Spokespeople for Johannsonn told Variety that the actress was never an official spokesperson for the app and that her lawyer, Kevin Yornhas already been instructed to take the necessary legal action.
“We don’t take these things lightly. As we are wont to do in these circumstances, we will use all legal tools at our disposal,” Yorn said in a statement to Variety.
This latest episode is just the latest in a series of cases that have seen Hollywood stars deprived of their right to personality. A few weeks ago a dental hygiene practice used AI to insert Tom Hanks into one of its advertisements.