--- description: Find out why Scarlett Johansson made TIME’s list of the most influential people in artificial intelligence. title: TIME100 AI 2024: Scarlett Johansson image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd54c69df855de98/698a5a929d83e8ee2ab9a7a2/TIME100-AI-2024-SHAPERS_Scarlett-Johansson-NEW.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 05, 2024 # Scarlett Johansson by [Andrew R. Chow](/author/andrew-r-chow/) ## Andrew R. Chow Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source: Paolo Blocco—FilmMagic/Getty Images) In 2015’s _Avengers: Age of Ultron_, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow fought against an AI trying to wipe out humanity. This year, in real life, she launched into battle against OpenAI, becoming the most prominent public figure in a rising contingent voicing concerns about the company’s growth and safety tactics. In May, Johansson claimed in a statement that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had personally reached out to her, asking her to voice the company’s new chatbot, ChatGPT-4o. After she turned down the offer, OpenAI released a voice that sounded so similar to hers, that her “closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” she wrote. In the statement, Johansson linked her personal feud with OpenAI to a larger one over the protection of peoples’ likeness and identities in a new era in which deepfakes are easily created and increasingly rampant. OpenAI responded that the voice was not inspired by Johansson, and was recorded by a different actor. But the company proceeded to pull the voice of the chatbot anyway. The [backlash](https://time.com/6980710/scarlett-johansson-open-ai-sam-altman-trust/ "undefined") against the company was intense, with users accusing Altman of acting unethically, and of cutting corners in terms of permissions and copyright. In response to the incident, Senator Brian Schatz called for regulation, [writing](https://x.com/brianschatz/status/1792703058696376405 "undefined") on Twitter: “The right to one’s own image and voice must be protected.” The following month, he [co-introduced](https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-schatz-introduce-bill-to-raise-awareness-boost-public-trust-in-artificial-intelligence/ "undefined") an AI “public awareness and education” bill, stressing the importance of teaching the public how to detect deepfakes. _\*Disclosure: OpenAI and TIME have_ [_a licensing and technology agreement_](https://time.com/6992955/time-and-openai-announce-strategic-content-partnership/ "undefined") _that allows OpenAI to access TIME's archives._ [_Buy your copy of the TIME100 AI issue here_](https://magazineshop.us/TIME100AI "undefined") Scarlett Johansson: The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012805/scarlett-johansson-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012805/scarlett-johansson-2/"},"headline":"Scarlett Johansson","datePublished":"2024-09-05T11:17:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:23.138Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012805/scarlett-johansson-2/","keywords":["Tech"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd54c69df855de98/698a5a929d83e8ee2ab9a7a2/TIME100-AI-2024-SHAPERS_Scarlett-Johansson-NEW.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew R. 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