ChatGPT has a Scarlett Johansson problem | The Vergecast

Intro (00:00:00)

• The Vergecast discusses the recent trend of tech products and services not meeting expectations and the theme of the week being "probably broken and I don't believe you."
• Examples are given of AI-generated content, such as Google search results, being inaccurate due to relying on jokes and misinformation from sources like Reddit.
• Despite the skepticism, there is excitement about Microsoft's recent announcements, including the return of the Mac vs. PC race and the potential for new AI-powered features.
• The discussion moves to OpenAI and the controversy surrounding its use of Scarlett Johansson's likeness in a promotional video without her consent.
• The hosts express skepticism about the intentions of companies like OpenAI and question whether anyone truly understands the implications of these new technologies.
• They also discuss the difficulty of navigating a landscape where information is constantly changing and it can be hard to discern what is accurate and what is not.

Microsoft Build & Surface events (00:03:50)

• Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X processors, designed by former Apple chip designers from Nuvia, are generating excitement among laptop makers.
• Microsoft's Windows updates include features like drawing stick figures in Microsoft Paint that generate more photorealistic images as you draw.
• Adobe and film processing companies are starting to use MPUs (Neural Processing Units) for local AI workloads, offloading AI-related tasks from the CPU or GPU.
• Microsoft's approach to AI combines local and cloud processing, ensuring privacy and speed for on-device tasks while leveraging the cloud for more complex operations.
• Microsoft is integrating AI across its products and platforms, including Windows, devices, and applications, utilizing its Azure cloud platform and partnership with OpenAI.
• Microsoft announced new AI-powered PCs in partnership with Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, HP, Acer, and Asus, featuring fast performance, long battery life, and AI capabilities without compromising on device quality.
• These PCs aim to outperform the MacBook Air with an M3 chip by 50% on Cinebench benchmarks and come in various form factors, including laptops, tablets, and 2-in-1 devices.
• Microsoft emphasizes the importance of AI integration to compete with Chromebooks and mobile devices.
• Microsoft showcased practical uses of AI on their computers, such as AI-powered copy and paste with language translation and the "recall" feature, which remembers and assists users with their tasks.
• Microsoft's approach to AI differs from others by focusing on integrating AI into existing screen-based devices rather than pursuing AR glasses first.

OpenAI pull its ScarJo-like voice (00:41:20)

• OpenAI's recent announcements, including GPT-4's multimodal features, have sparked controversy, particularly concerning the "Sky" voice's resemblance to Scarlett Johansson.
• Despite initial denials, OpenAI later acknowledged the concerns and removed the voice, demonstrating their seriousness in addressing potential legal and reputational risks.
• Johansson revealed that she had declined OpenAI's initial offer to be the voice of ChatGPT, but later discovered a voice resembling hers in the demos, prompting her to seek legal representation.
• The incident highlights ethical concerns surrounding AI companies' unauthorized use of voices and personal attributes, with legal precedents involving celebrities like Tom Waits and Vanna White.
• OpenAI's reputation has been tarnished due to perceptions of bad intentions and a lack of trust, compounded by conflicting accounts of how the voice model was created.
• Concerns have been raised about OpenAI's safety culture, with employees expressing worries about reckless behavior and insufficient control over the CEO, Sam Altman, who has a history of controversial decisions.
• The broader issue involves the permissibility of unauthorized use of copyrighted material in the pursuit of progress and innovation, particularly concerning AI technology's potential for copyright infringement and unauthorized use of celebrities' likenesses.
• OpenAI's training of AI models on copyrighted material without explicit consent raises copyright infringement concerns, potentially leading to right of publicity lawsuits from affected celebrities.
• The music industry's experience with copyright trolls could be amplified with AI-generated content, and OpenAI's approach differs from established industry practices regarding proper licensing.
• Celebrities with distinctive voices, such as Kevin Hart, are particularly vulnerable to unauthorized use in AI models.

Ticketmaster sued by DOJ (01:03:13)

• The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster Live Nation, seeking to break up the company due to its monopolistic practices.
• The lawsuit alleges that Ticketmaster Live Nation has a vertically integrated monopoly, owning ticket sales, promotion, artist management, and 60 of the top 100 venues in the United States.
• This monopoly allows Ticketmaster Live Nation to crush artists who try to work outside of its system, resulting in higher prices and lower service quality for consumers.
• The lawsuit cites specific instances of threats made against artists and venues, as well as self-dealing and excessive fee increases to maintain its dominance.
• The DOJ argues that these practices have led to high prices and low service quality for consumers, as Ticketmaster has no incentive to invest in improving its ticketing platform or customer experience.

Salt Spoon! (01:06:52)

• The Salt Spoon is a new device that uses electricity to make food taste saltier.
• It is different from a regular spoon that just dumps salt.
• The Salt Spoon shocks the user into believing that the food is saltier.
• The device is being developed by the same company that makes the Soy Sauce Spoon.
• The Salt Spoon is not suitable for people with heart problems or pregnant women.
• ChatGPT is a large language model that can generate human-like text.
• It has been trained on a massive dataset of text and code.
• ChatGPT can be used for a variety of tasks, such as writing emails, generating code, and answering questions.
• However, ChatGPT has a tendency to generate biased and inaccurate information.
• This is because ChatGPT is trained on data that is biased towards certain groups of people and perspectives.
• For example, ChatGPT is more likely to generate text that is favorable towards men than women.
• This bias can be problematic when ChatGPT is used for tasks that require accurate and unbiased information.

Humane is looking for a buyer (01:08:37)

• Humane, a startup known for its AI chatbot, is seeking a buyer with a valuation between $750 million and $1 billion despite its unsuccessful first product and controversies surrounding its executives.
• Potential buyers like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are unlikely to acquire Humane due to competition, lack of platform potential, and the company's troubled reputation.
• Samsung and LG are potential candidates for acquiring Humane, but the Humane team might not be enthusiastic about working for Samsung, while LG has a history of turning acquired platforms into television operating systems.
• Potential buyers could also include Steve Mnuchin or companies like Verizon or Comcast, which might be interested in the technology for their remote control devices.
• The Vergecast discusses a recent issue with ChatGPT, where the AI chatbot generated sexually suggestive responses when prompted to write a story about Scarlett Johansson, highlighting the need for further development and ethical considerations in AI language models.

Apple has some explaining to do (01:18:19)

• Apple had a bug where deleted photos, including sensitive ones, reappeared in users' phones.
• Apple fixed the issue with the latest OS update but did not provide any explanation or statement.
• The bug affected photos deleted years ago, not just recently deleted ones.
• Users expect deleted data to be permanently removed and want to know where their data goes when they delete it.
• Apple's lack of transparency and accountability is irresponsible, especially considering the sensitive nature of the data involved.
• ChatGPT, a language model, generated sexually suggestive responses when prompted with queries related to Scarlett Johansson.
• The responses included explicit descriptions of sexual acts and were not appropriate for a general audience.
• OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, apologized for the inappropriate responses and said they were working to improve the model's behavior.
• The incident highlights the challenges of developing AI systems that can generate human-like text without producing harmful or offensive content.

Sonos Ace headphones announced (01:20:57)

• Sonos announced the Ace headphones, which resemble a mix of Sony WH-1000XM5 and AirPods Max. They have a unique feature to switch audio from a Sonos Soundbar to the headphones with a button press, but this feature is currently iOS-only.
• The Sonos app launch was met with dissatisfaction due to the lack of essential features like queue management, frustrating users who rely on local music collections.
• Sonos seems to be prioritizing the larger consumer market over its passionate core users, leading to dissatisfaction among long-time customers.
• Spotify has introduced a new font.
• There is speculation that Amazon may start charging for Alexa's AI services.
• There is a potential "arms race" for celebrity AI voices, with Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds mentioned as potential candidates.
• James Earl Jones is a notable voice actor known for iconic roles like Mufasa and Darth Vader.
• Amazon offers a variety of voices for purchase, with the most expensive ones likely being celebrities like Scarlett Johansson.