OpenAI had barely emerged from the Scarlett Johansson controversy when the company released a new demo featuring the GPT-4o model’s ability to generate voices for a range of Disney-like characters, including animals like a snake, an owl, and a fox. 

In the demo, the model was asked to generate the sound of a wise and stoic owl, acting as an advisor to the lion in the jungle. The model’s voice modulation and the owl’s wise tone appear to be inspired by Disney movies, specifically the owl from Winnie the Pooh.

Similarly, when the model makes a squeaky sound like a mouse, one immediately remembers the popular Mickey Mouse character.

Interestingly, when asked to produce an evil laugh and suggest which animal it would suit, the model responded, “For a villain with that kind of laugh, maybe a slithery snake or a cunning fox.” 

Disney had all these characters spread over several movies, for instance, Kaa, the snake in The Jungle Book. On the other hand, the fox seems to be inspired by Honest John from Pinocchio.

The voice, though similar to Disney-like characters, gives the studio no right to sue them. The best part about GPT-4o is that it can generate a wide range of pitches, tones, and accents. To put it in CEO Sam Altman’s words, “The model is fluid”.

“Disney doesn’t have the copyright on anthropomorphised mice with high-pitched voices – that’s a basic concept that predates Disney’s existence by thousands of years at a minimum,” commented a user on YouTube.

However, there is no doubt that this new feature puts the careers of voice actors and dubbing artists at risk. “OpenAI is going after voice actors now,” posted a user on X. Another one humorously referenced Johansson’s fiasco, saying, “Scarlett: It sounds like me! OpenAI: Joke’s on you, it can sound like anyone.”

Meanwhile, Pixar recently announced its plans to lay off about 175 employees, or roughly 14% of its workforce. These cuts are part of Disney’s chief Bob Iger’s initiative to prioritise quality over quantity in the studio’s content.

It’s interesting that in 2021, Johansson sued Disney, claiming the studio breached her contract by releasing ‘Black Widow’ on Disney+, the same day it premiered in theaters. If Disney were to sue OpenAI now, it would all come full circle. The drama would any day be better than Disney movies. 

Disney X OpenAI 

Earlier this year, OpenAI unveiled Sora, its generative AI video model capable of producing hyper-realistic videos. There’s a strong possibility that Disney could partner with OpenAI to create content, following the trend seen in news media publications of partnering with OpenAI and licensing their content.

The world’s first commissioned music video created entirely through OpenAI’s Sora, The Hardest Part, directed by Paul Trillo, was also recently released.

“Walt Disney himself was a big believer in using technology in the early days to tell better stories. And he thought that technology in the hands of a great storyteller was unbelievably powerful,” said Disney chief Bob Iger at a recent Canva event. 

“Don’t fixate on its ability to be disruptive — fixate on [tech’s] ability to make us better and tell better stories. Not only better stories but to reach more people,” Iger added.

Lately, OpenAI has also been pitching Sora to Hollywood and other entertainment giants. The AI startup has been actively arranging meetings in Los Angeles with Hollywood studios, media executives, and talent agencies.

Most recently, actor and investor Ashton Kutcher lauded OpenAI’s Sora model. “I’ve been playing around with Sora, this latest thing that OpenAI launched that generates video,” Kutcher said. “I have a beta version of it, and it’s pretty amazing. Like, it’s pretty good,” he gushed.

With the combined features of Sora and GPT-4o voice capabilities, the future is not far from where it would be very easy to make short films and cartoon series. The Tribeca Film Festival 2024 will feature five AI-generated short films created in collaboration with OpenAI’s Sora.

As Kutcher puts it, “There’s going to be more content than there are eyeballs to consume it. Any one piece of content is only as valuable as you can get people to consume it. The bar is going to have to go way up. Why will you watch my movie when you could just watch your own movie?”

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