OpenAI’s yet-to-be-released flagship AI video generator Sora was leaked yesterday on HuggingFace. A group of artists, dissatisfied with being given early access, decided to share their work with the world in protest of being used as “PR puppets”.
Sora was first unveiled to the world in February of this year. At the time, it was significantly ahead of other AI video generators, but since then, the likes of Kling, Runway, Luma Labs, and Hailuo have started to catch up.
Following the leak and criticism, OpenAI immediately cut off access for all users and said those with early access were under no obligation to use it or provide feedback.
What happened to Sora’s leak?
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Rather than releasing Sora to the public as is, OpenAI went through a rigorous red team and research preview process. This included making it available to a select group of industry experts and creatives. The goal was to improve the overall user experience while preventing the creation of misinformation, illegal content, and videos of real people.
Angered by this rollout and the slowness of the process, a group of artists decided to protest by sharing the access key on HuggingFace and allowing everyone to try it out. they write: “We received access to Sora with the promise of being early testers, red teamers, and creative partners.” He said he felt the need to tell the world that it was a tool.
The leaked access to Sora was immediately removed. In fact, OpenAI was forced to remove access for everyone with permission to try Sora. In a statement sent to Tom’s Guide, the company said that participation in the alpha program is voluntary and there is no obligation to use the tools or provide feedback.
The spokesperson added, “Hundreds of artists in Alpha have shaped the development of Sora and helped prioritize new features and safeguards,” adding, “We are proud to be able to provide free access to these artists. We are excited about them and will continue to support them through grants, events and more.” We believe that AI can be a powerful creative tool, and we’re committed to making Sora useful and safe. ”
What is Sora’s current situation?
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Sora is not ready for primetime release. OpenAI describes it as a “research preview,” and by all accounts it still outperforms the competition in terms of motion, visual clarity, and overall quality. There’s also a new Turbo mode, which seems to fix some of the slow generation issues.
“Sora is still in research preview and we are working on balancing creativity with robust safety measures for broader applications,” an OpenAI spokesperson told me.
As part of the Sora research preview period, OpenAI has also provided access to, and in some cases funding, projects such as the Tribeca Film Festival’s Sora Shorts program and exhibitions at Heron Arts and New York Galleries.
The only responsibility artists who have early access to Sora have is not to share sensitive details while Sora is still in development. They were also encouraged to provide honest feedback.
I’d love to see Sora released, but I feel that OpenAI is being somewhat overcautious about the slow rollout given the increased competition. But in my opinion, if early access is allowed, share criticism of the actual platform only after it is published. That way you can tell the whole story once others have access too.
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