Actor Scarlett Johansson slaps lawsuit on Lisa AI app for cloning her voice in ad

The online ad contained the AI-generated voice of popular Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson and that too without her permission. The actress has filed a lawsuit against the company behind the AI app.

AI voice cloning has become a concerning issue in the last few months, and Scarlett Johansson is the latest celeb to take the brunt as an AI app illegally uses her cloned voice for an online ad. (AFP)

The signs of AI making trouble were there to see ever since the song ‘Heart on my sleeve' came out and immediately began ranking on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. It was an AI-generated song that used the cloned voices of artists Drake and The Weeknd. While it was soon taken down from the platforms, it showed the world how closely an AI-generated voice could sound. Now, in a recent incident, Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson has decided to take legal action against an AI app for using her voice for an online ad without her consent. This lawsuit marks the latest event in a series of growing frustration among singers and actors over the misuse of their identity through deepfakes.

According to a report by Variety, Johansson appeared in a 22-second ad posted on X by an AI image-generating app called Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar. The report reviewed the ad and it starts with a clip of the actor from behind the scenes of Marvel's Black Widow film, where she says “What's up guys? It's Scarlett and I want you to come with me.”

After this, the video transitions to some AI-generated images of the actor and her closely resembling voice, promoting the AI app saying, “It's not limited to avatars only. You can also create images with texts and even your AI videos. I think you shouldn't miss it.”

The entire time, a fine print at the bottom of the screen, Variety reports, can be seen which reads, “Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person.”

Scarlett Johansson takes legal action against AI app

The representatives for the actor informed Variety that Johansson is not a spokesperson for the ad or the developer of the AI app, Convert Software, and was not contacted to get permission before airing it. As a result, her attorney, Kevin Yorn handled the situation in a legal capacity.

Yorn also gave a statement to Variety, where he said, “We do not take these things lightly. Per our usual course of action in these circumstances, we will deal with it with all legal remedies that we will have.”

The unauthorized use of one's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness is a punishable offense in many states of the US, including California, where the lawsuit was filed. It is believed that with the increasing usage of AI, incidents similar to this will be seen more and more.