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Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

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Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#91

Post by dragonwriter »

redox99 wrote: post #44

They hired a voice actor for Sky's voice. If OpenAI loses, does this mean this voice actor cannot do their job any longer, because it happens some other actor has a similar voice? Could Sky's voice actor sue a movie Johansson works in, because Johannson is copying her voice?

> If OpenAI loses, does this mean this voice actor cannot do their job any longer, because it happens some other actor has a similar voice?

No. Just as if they hired a writer to do something that made them liable for copyright violation, or an engineer for something that made them liable for patent violation, those workers would not be banned from work.

The violation of right of personality isn't mere similarity of voice.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#92

Post by chx »

panarky wrote: post #6

Altman would have us believe it's all just an innocent misunderstanding but without actually saying so: "We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson." Is he trying to suggest the company did not try to make the voice sound like her without her permission? The statement sounds like it's written by a lawyer to be technically true while implying something that is actually false. These…

> He sounds sneaky, evasive and intentionally deceptive.

Well, here's Yishan Wong describing how Altman and the Reddit founders have conned Conde Nast: https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_bes... he answers at https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_bes...

Cool story bro.

Except I could never have predicted the part where you resigned on the spot :)

Other than that, child's play for me.

Thanks for the help. I mean, thanks for your service as CEO.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#93

Post by LeonB »

miohtama wrote: post #14
panarky wrote: post #6

Altman would have us believe it's all just an innocent misunderstanding but without actually saying so: "We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson." Is he trying to suggest the company did not try to make the voice sound like her without her permission? The statement sounds like it's written by a lawyer to be technically true while implying something that is actually false. These…

There are hundreds of people with similar voices. If any voice actor can pull the same accent than Ms. Johansson, it should be fair game, as long it was the original training material? Voices cannot be copyrighted or be exclusive, although I am sure Hollywood will try to copyright them in some point.

In back to the future II, Crispin Glover didn’t sign up to be George McFly so they used facial prosthetics and impersonation to continue the George McFly character.

He sued Universal, and reportedly settled for $760,000.

Example article on the topic - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/bac...

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#95

Post by sneak »

rawrawrawrr wrote: post #71
WalterBright wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jim Carrey made his career by impersonating celebrity voices. So did Rich Little.

Parody is covered under fair use.

As pointed out upthread, fair use is an exemption for copyright. You don’t need fair use for something that isn’t copyrighted (and, indeed, isn’t even copyrightable).

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#96

Post by minimaxir »

game_the0ry wrote: post #28

I wonder how long this thread will last on HN... How much influence does @sama have around here nowadays? For the record, I was never impressed with him - I am not aware of single consequential thing he has done or built other than take the credit for the fine work of the AI scientist + engineers at OpenAI. It feels like the company is just a vehicle for how own ambition and legacy, not much else.

Hacker News is famously editorially independent from YC-affiliated people, and dang has said that specifically avoids killing threads involving YC people/companies (not that Sam Altman is YC-affiliated anymore).

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#97

Post by HenryBemis »

afavour wrote: post #51
miohtama wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are hundreds of people with similar voices. If any voice actor can pull the same accent than Ms. Johansson, it should be fair game, as long it was the original training material? Voices cannot be copyrighted or be exclusive, although I am sure Hollywood will try to copyright them in some point.

He kind of ruined that argument when he tweeted “Her” alongside the video. Pretty clearly drawing a line between the voice and Johansson’s portrayal in the movie. Incredible, really. It would have been so easy to just… not do that.

He said/X-ed the quiet part loud.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#98

Post by Uehreka »

rowanG077 wrote: post #19

Leaving alone whether they sound similar at all for now, since that is subjective. I think this will set an extremely bad precedent. People owning their own voice is clear and that is the way it should be. But people owning how their voice sounds like is weird. You can find thousands and thousands of people with similar voices. We are going to path now where a single person can have ownership of that and block the ot…

Nah, I think it’s pretty clear cut. Under current US trademark law (IANAL etc), if I sound like Morgan Freeman, I’m free to do what I want, as long as I don’t try to convince people that I’m Morgan Freeman. If I’m cast in a movie because my voice sounds like Morgan Freeman, and the promo posters don’t have his name or face on them, fine. If I do voiceover for a commercial and say something like “I’m Morgan Freeman, buy Joe’s Hotdogs” then that’s already a clear violation of Morgan Freeman’s trademark, because consumers might be confused into associating Joe’s Hotdogs with Morgan Freeman.

And that’s what happened here: OpenAI “hired a machine” that sounds like ScarJo, and then attempted to associate their product with ScarJo’s brand without her permission. You’re already not allowed to do that.

And if you want to make it as a voice actor and you sound like Morgan Freeman? Try your hardest to develop a personal brand distinct from his, and don’t take gigs where people want you to impersonate him (unless it’s a really obvious parody and you’re cool with the angle).

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#99

Post by ozim »

robofanatic wrote: post #69
miohtama wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are hundreds of people with similar voices. If any voice actor can pull the same accent than Ms. Johansson, it should be fair game, as long it was the original training material? Voices cannot be copyrighted or be exclusive, although I am sure Hollywood will try to copyright them in some point.

I believe professional singer's voices will be copyrighted in future if not getting already.

Try to sing or play a cover just like original of a song - yt will take it down in no time.

the same with white noise videos, they strike copyright infringement easy or at least they were. Did not check but I assume so it still is the case.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#100

Post by jedberg »

staunch wrote: post #54
lenerdenator wrote: post #2

This feels like someone trying to do something they thought Steve Jobs would do.

Steve Jobs was a superficial asshole but was fundamentally a good and ethical person. There's only one major ethical mistake documented in his entire life (being an absentee father while his first daughter was young), which he spent decades making amends for. The people that emulate Steve Jobs poorly are usually real assholes with a long list of ethical mistakes.

> There's only one major ethical mistake documented in his entire life (being an absentee father while his first daughter was young)

Jobs lied to Steve Wozniak. Atari gave Jobs $5000 to make Breakout for Atari. He told Wozniak he got $700 so Wozniak took home $350.

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