OpenAI, owner of ChatGPT, purchased the startup Weights.gg, a company specializing in artificial intelligence tools capable of cloning human voices, according to the American newspaper The New York Times.
The acquisition, which had not been publicly disclosed, included both the company’s staff and its intellectual property, according to people familiar with the deal. The negotiation values were not revealed. Weights.gg officially announced the closure of its services in March this year.
The startup functioned as a type of social network aimed at creating and sharing artificial intelligence algorithms.
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Using the free application called Replay, users were able to generate extremely realistic artificial voices, including clones of celebrity voices.
Among the most popular models on the platform were reproductions of the voices of singer Taylor Swift, rapper Kanye West and members of the South Korean group Blackpink. A YouTube user even demonstrated how he used the company’s technology to replicate the voice of actor Samuel L. Jackson.
OpenAI itself had already demonstrated public concern about the risks of voice cloning by artificial intelligence. Two years ago, researchers from the company published a text explaining that they had developed advanced vocal replication technology, but decided not to release it widely to the public out of caution.
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Even though it officially maintains this position, the acquisition of Weights.gg shows that the company continues to invest in the development of this type of technology. The advancement of voice cloning tools has sparked debates about digital security, virtual scams, misinformation and misuse of the image and identity of artists and public figures.
In recent months, the growth of content generated by artificial intelligence using the voices of celebrities has increased pressure on technology companies to create protection and control mechanisms against abuse.
