OpenAI wants our social media feeds to feature even more AI. Its AI video generator Sora is getting its own social media app, powered by a newly updated version of its AI video model called Sora 2, the company announced Tuesday via livestream.
The app will be a kind of social media platform, where you can follow your friends and share content. However, all of that content will be generated by AI. "It's not posted by bots, it's posted by humans, but it's all AI-generated," OpenAI's Thomas Dimson said during the livestream. We'll have to wait and see if the app does that or if it becomes another social media platform inundated with AI slop.
One of the biggest new features is Cameo, which lets you use your face or someone else's face and insert it into an AI-generated scene. You can use other people's likenesses to create videos if they've elected to have their cameos made public. You can also create videos with sound, a first for OpenAI and a feature that puts it on par with Google's Veo 3, which stunned AI enthusiasts this summer. OpenAI said in a blog post that it's also better at obeying the laws of physics, something AI video generators struggle with, thanks to better reasoning capabilities.
The app is currently only available to iPhone users. Android users will be able to use the new Sora through the web browser, but like iOS users, they'll need an invite code. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
You will be able to use the new Sora 2 model through the web browser, too. Screenshot by Katelyn Chedraoui/CNET
Sora 2 invite codes: How they work
You can download the Sora app now from the Apple App Store. Look for the app that's made by OpenAI and features a blue and white cloud icon. Though you can download it now, you won't be able to use it right away.
Sora is an invite-only app, so you'll need a friend to give you an access code. Each Sora user will be given four invite codes. The app is best enjoyed with friends, OpenAI said during the livestream, which likely explains the more restricted access. An OpenAI spokesperson said the "rollout is starting now" for the initial batch of access codes and that the company will roll it out quickly.
For now, I recommend downloading the app and signing in with your ChatGPT account (or creating a new account, if you don't have one). Once you're logged in, you can request to be notified when access codes become available.
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