Biden: AI companies ‘must earn our trust’ before transforming lives

President Biden lauded the transformation artificial intelligence (AI) could have on the world, but he warned the companies that create it they would first have to “earn our trust.”

“Artificial intelligence and the companies that wield its possibilities are going to transform the lives of people around the world — there’s no doubt about that,” Biden wrote on the social platform X. “But first, they must earn our trust.”

“I commit to do everything in my power to promote and demand safe, secure, trustworthy, and responsible innovation — that includes the use of AI-generated audio,” the president continued. “I ask that AI companies join me in that commitment.”

His vow comes months after a digitally altered voice was created earlier this year to sound like Biden urging New Hampshire voters to avoid casting ballots in the Democratic primary. The call marked the latest example of how AI could be used in the election cycle, as Biden and former President Trump gear up for a rematch in November.

The post also follows concerns from Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson, who revealed Monday she was “shocked” and “angered” by OpenAI rolling out a voice assistant on ChatGPT that sounded “eerily similar” to her voice. She noted the company’s CEO Sam Altman reached out to her about voicing the AI, but she declined.

Last week, the company launched a demo for its assistant with the “Sky” voice.

“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” she said in a statement to The Hill.

“Two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released, Mr. Altman contacted my agent, asking me to reconsider,” she continued. “Before we could connect, the system was out there.”

OpenAI said in a statement Monday that the “Sky” voice is not meant to imitate Johansson’s.

“We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice,” the company wrote. “Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice.”

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