OpenAI delays release of voice chatbot as lawsuits lurk around the corner
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has postponed the release of its latest model as a new chat feature where artificial intelligence (AI) can talk and sing to the user won’t be ready for release. At the same time, several companies have filed lawsuits for possible copyright violations.
In a post on X, the company announced the postponement of “the advanced voice mode”. OpenAI says it had plans to roll out the new functionality to paying users by the end of June, but now says it needs “another little month” to achieve the security requirements the company set itself.
For example, OpenAI says it still needs to work on ways to keep out inappropriate content so that AI voices don’t say harmful things. A small group of testers will then have access to the new features to fine-tune them even more. That will then be followed by the release to the paying public in the fall of 2024. If the new feature meets requirements by then, at least.
“ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode can understand and respond to emotions and nonverbal cues, bringing us closer to real-time, natural conversations with AI,” the company said. It wants to do this “in a thoughtful way”.
The delay can hardly be separated from several lawsuits.
In May, controversy erupted after actress Scarlett Johansson remarked that the voice ‘Sky’ sounded a lot like hers. OpenAI first denied all involvement. Shortly thereafter, CEO Sam Altman had to admit that Johansson had been approached to have her voice used but the actress had refused all cooperation.
After legal objections from Johansson’s lawyers, OpenAI decided to remove Sky from its voice program. Johansson demanded openness and honesty around the development of AI voices.
In other words, this mainly involves the training of the voice model. Existing voices must be used for the AI voice to work properly. A number of major music companies are therefore questioning the data used by various AI companies.
Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Records decided Monday to sue smaller AI start-ups Suno and Udio. They allegedly used well-known songs to train their voice models, such as All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey or I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown. Suno and Udio offered voices that would be “indistinguishable” from those of Michael Jackson or Bruce Springsteen.
The music labels are demanding damages of up to $150,000 per possible copied song. Suno allegedly copied 662 songs and Udio 1,670.
Although OpenAI as a major company is not yet involved in such a music lawsuit, the question remains as to what training data will be used for the new ChatGPT feature. The delay need not be related to it, but the timing is noteworthy.
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