OpenAI is shutting down Sora, a social media app that became a hot topic as a place to share short videos generated by artificial intelligence (AI), but it also sounded an alarm.
In a short message on social media, OpenAI said it was “saying goodbye to the Sora app” and would soon share more information about how users can save what they create on the app.
“What you created with Sora was important. We understand that this news is disappointing.”
The company behind ChatGPT released Sora in September in an attempt to garner attention and potentially ad dollars following short-form videos on TikTok, YouTube, or Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook.
But a growing number of advocacy groups, academics and experts have raised concerns about the dangers of allowing people to create AI videos about almost anything they can type into a prompt, leading to the proliferation of non-consensual images and realistic deepfakes.
OpenAI was forced to crack down on AI productions featuring celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. doing outlandish things, following protests from families and actors’ unions.
Sora’s decision marks the end of a blockbuster US$1 billion ($1.43 billion) deal between Disney and the ChatGPT maker that was announced a little more than three months ago.
As part of the three-year agreement, Disney announced it will invest $1 billion in OpenAI and lend more than 200 iconic characters for use in short AI-generated videos.
On Monday night local time, teams from Disney and OpenAI were collaborating on a project related to Sora.
Just 30 minutes after that meeting, the Disney team was blindsided by the news that Sola would be permanently removed from the role, sources said.
“It was a big deal,” said the person, who requested anonymity.
Disney said in a statement that it respects “OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and shift its priorities elsewhere.”
“We are grateful for the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we have learned, and we will continue to engage with our AI platform to find new ways to meet fans where they are, while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect intellectual property and creator rights,” the statement said.
Sora’s cancellation comes as OpenAI faces increasing pressure to beef up its enterprise and coding products amid increased competition from rival AI startups and tech giants.
Anthropic’s focus on training models through coding has led to its Claude Code product gaining strong traction among developers, giving the company an edge over OpenAI and other competitors in the enterprise AI market.
AP/Reuters
