Meta to use celebrity voices like John Cena for AI Chatbot: Report

In May, OpenAI faced harsh criticism for releasing its chatbot, Sky, which featured a voice that sounded remarkably similar to that of actor Scarlett Johansson – who famously voiced the AI ​​in the 2013 film Her.

Johansson said she repeatedly refused to participate in the OpenAI project when asked and hired legal representation after the launch. OpenAI has withdrawn the voice option amid the conflict with the superstar.

For his part, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg teased the celebrity partnership in an Instagram post that featured Cena in a “stunt test” of the company’s Ray-Ban smart glasses — which Reuters reported that it will also be presented at the Connect conference.

While it remains to be seen whether Meta’s latest release will be a commercial or critical success, it looks like the company will avoid the headache encountered by OpenAI. Fortune reported last month that Meta is paying millions of dollars for the rights to use celebrity voices for AI projects.

This won’t be the first time celebrity voices have made their way into the tech world, but it may be among the most entertaining. Waze has long partnered with stars like Morgan Freeman and Jay Leno to read your map directions, but Meta’s AI chatbot offers the ability to give orders to Gossip Girl — or James Bond’s boss.

Representatives for Meta and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.