Just over a week ago, OpenAI launched its latest text-to-video generating app, a TikTok-like experience dubbed Sora 2 that lets users churn out a tidal wave of AI slop.
It didn’t take long for users to use the app to generate videos of copyrighted and widely-known characters, from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman barbecuing a Pikachu and full episodes of “South Park” to SpongeBob SquarePants cooking up blue meth crystals in the style of AMC’s iconic “Breaking Bad” TV series.
The hype was so immense that Sora rocketed to the top of Apple’s App Store rankings in a matter of just two days. After all, who wouldn’t want to see Super Mario involved in a high-speed police pursuit?
But it’s quickly turned into a rocky road. In the days leading up to the launch, the Wall Street Journal reported that rightsholders would have to “opt out” of having their copyrighted material shown in the app — only for OpenAI to reverse course soon after the launch.
“We will give rightsholders more granular control over generation of characters, similar to the opt-in model for likeness but with additional controls,” Altman wrote in an update on his blog last week.
The cat was already out of the bag, though, sparking what’s likely to be immense legal drama for OpenAI. On Monday, the Motion Picture Association, a US trade association that represents major film studios, released a scorching statement urging OpenAI to “take immediate and decisive action” to stop the app from infringing on copyrighted media.
Meanwhile, OpenAI appears to have come down hard on what kind of text prompts can be turned into AI slop on Sora, implementing sweeping new guardrails presumably meant to appease furious rightsholders and protect their intellectual property.
As a result, power users experienced major whiplash that’s tarnishing the launch’s image even among fans. It’s a lose-lose moment for OpenAI’s flashy new app — either aggravate rightsholders by allowing mass copyright infringement, or turn it into yet another mind-numbing screensaver-generating experience like Meta’s widely mocked Vibes.
“It’s official, Sora 2 is completely boring and useless with these copyright restrictions. Some videos should be considered fair use,” one Reddit user lamented.
Others accused OpenAI of abusing copyright to hype up its new app.
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