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OpenAI\u2019s upgraded Sora 2 app turns basic text prompts into detailed, high-definition videos. It\u2019s arguably the most realistic seen today, and the proof of the fact lies in the line it blurs between creative tool and ethical conflict, prompting concerns from deepfake and copyright experts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Released in September this year as a \u201cbig leap forward\u201d in AI video generation, Sora 2 rapidly became the most popular app in the Photo and Video category on the iOS App Store. It stood out from other text-to-video generative AI models for its social feed, similar to TikTok\u2019s, where user videos can be uploaded and shared, or exported elsewhere. It also allows for the generation of celebrities\u2019 likenesses, as well as politicians, sportspeople and other historical figures. Crucially, these figures must not be living, a restriction that didn\u2019t stop videos featuring Stephen Hawking, Dr Martin Luther King Jr., and Princess Diana from going viral almost immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It comes as no surprise that within the first week, alarm bells were raised as users began pushing beyond ethical boundaries with deepfakes that skirted the edges of copyright law. This is in large part due to the controversial policy OpenAI released their second Sora model under: copyrighted material can be used by the app unless rights holders explicitly opt out, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since then, several family members of the deceased celebrities and historical figures being depicted in Sora 2\u2019s viral videos have raised complaints.<\/p>\n Actor Robin William\u2019s daughter Zelda Williams said in an Instagram story: \u201cPlease, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to \u2018this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that\u2019s enough\u2019, just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening.\u201d<\/p>\n The daughter of Dr King Jr., Bernice King, expressed her agreement with Williams in a post of her own, stating: \u201cI concur concerning my father. Please stop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter to the late Malcom X told The Washington Post<\/a>, \u201cIt is deeply disrespectful and hurtful to see my father\u2019s image used in such a cavalier and insensitive manner when he dedicated his life to truth.\u201d Videos of the civil rights activist have ranged from his likeness making crude jokes to wrestling with Dr King Jr. and other strange, typically offensive scenarios.\u00a0<\/p>\n In response, OpenAI has recently released a public statement, acknowledging that some of its users have generated \u201cdisrespectful depictions\u201d of MLK Jr., and following a request from his estate, the use of his likeness has been banned from the app.\u00a0<\/p>\nCelebrity Pushback<\/h2>\n
OpenAI\u2019s response<\/h2>\n