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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

#211

Post by sillysaurusx »

limitedfrom wrote: post #198
kaiwen1 wrote: post #104

There are many people with voices similar to Scarlett Johansson's. If SJ is unwilling to be a voice actor for OpenAi, then why should OpenAI not find a similar voice and use that instead? SJ certainly does not have a monopoly on all voices similar to hers. Anyone in possession of such a voice has the same right as SJ to monetize it. And someone did in fact exercise that right. If you compare the Sky voice to SJ's, th…

I encourage you to look through this case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midler_v._Ford_Motor_Co .

1. The case is from 1988. That’s the year I was born. Societal norms are in a constant state of flux, and this one case from 36 years ago isn’t really an indication of the current state of how case law will play out.

2. Ford explicitly hired an impersonator. OpenAI hired someone that sounded like her, and it’s her natural voice. Should movies be held to the same standard when casting their actors? This is about as absurd as saying that you’re not allowed to hire an actor to play a role.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#212

Post by SrslyJosh »

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.

Given:

1. The plot of "Her" (guy falls in love with synthesized voice, played by Johansson)

2. Altman's affinity for the film (the article says he's called it his "favorite movie")

Reaching out to Johansson about cloning her voice, then doing so without permission feels like Altman is creeping on her.

The sooner this bubble pops, the better.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#213

Post by game_the0ry »

wsatb wrote: post #166
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.

Couldn't this be said for most CEOs? They're never really the ones doing the dirty work.

Not all CEOs are terrible.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#214

Post by staunch »

rqtwteye wrote: post #196
jedberg wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

There is also the story where early Apple employees didn’t get any stock and Wozniak gave some of his.

Things are always more complicated than this...

As a rule, Apple gave stock to employees prior to the IPO, many of whom got rich. But some employees weren't eligible according to the criteria Steve (really, the board) came up with, and so they did not receive stock. Their criteria were typical for the time.

Woz and a few others felt bad about this and shared some of their stock.

Whether those ineligible people "deserved" stock is a matter of judgement...

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#215

Post by jprd »

andrewflnr wrote: post #169
hluska wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s less the voice and more about how they went about it. They were apparently in negotiations with her and they fell apart. Then they tried to resume negotiations with her two days before the new model launched. If it was just an actor, it might be a case of inspiration gone awry. But this particular actor sued Disney in 2021 after making a lot of movies and a lot of money making movies for them. Deliberate…

Oh, sure. There's plenty of other ways OpenAI have been boneheaded. I'm just saying the mere fact of referencing "Her" implies very little.

That's a fair statement if you take the "Her" post out-of-context and without the corroborating retort from ScarJo and his history. Which, of course, is not possible and also pretty boneheaded itself.

This isn't some college kid with an idea and too much passion.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#216

Post by sillysaurusx »

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.

The thread is rightly being knocked off by the mods because there’s zero substance here. It’s a follow-on thread (knock one) to a public uproar (knock two) about something that isn’t representative of a new phenomenon (knock three). This isn’t what HN is for.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#217

Post by Lerc »

malfist wrote: post #75
WalterBright wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm happy to contribute to the general knowledge. It's better than being forgotten and having no impact.

Oh you will be forgotten. All your knowledge will come from some trademarked AI bot and you won't even get a linkback

I think your answer belies an an assumption that is important in this context.

You are assuming that who came up with knowledge is important. I think Walter was saying that he would rather the knowledge not be forgotten, not that he was the one who provided it.

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#218

Post by stefan_ »

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.

This is one of those “accuse a diver of being a paedophile” moments. Who knew Sam is a creep with a Scarlet Johansson obsession cooking up a voice model just like her on compute daddy Satya paid for (but books as revenue, 2000 dotcom style).

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#219

Post by allsummer »

Cheer2171 wrote: post #173
allsummer wrote: post #160

All these journalists only now saying OpenAI stole a voice, and how Sam is so sneaky, when we only heard a PR release of someone sue-happy. Look, I'd have respected it if you reported the voice sounded like Her by doing your own investigative research. To now pile on just shows you were sleeping at the wheel before, so be objective, don't pretend to know that it is a done deal only now.

I'm glad the journalists don't give a damn about your respect.

The voice sounded so much like Her, they needed a press release from her to recognize it and report on it.

I'm glad for you. Enjoy your "journalism".

Re: Sam Altman is showing us who he really is

#220

Post by danielmarkbruce »

campbel wrote: post #186
kaiwen1 wrote: post #104

There are many people with voices similar to Scarlett Johansson's. If SJ is unwilling to be a voice actor for OpenAi, then why should OpenAI not find a similar voice and use that instead? SJ certainly does not have a monopoly on all voices similar to hers. Anyone in possession of such a voice has the same right as SJ to monetize it. And someone did in fact exercise that right. If you compare the Sky voice to SJ's, th…

IANAL, but I think the mistake they made was constantly referencing the movie 'Her' when talking about Sky.

100%. This whole thing is more stupidity than anything else. There is nothing wrong with using a voice that sounds like her. There is everything wrong with referencing the movie and sort of implying it is the voice from the movie. They could have easily let others make the connection. So dumb.
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