OpenAI has confirmed its generative AI-powered video app Sora will be shut down, despite previously enthusing about it being the future of video-making. After the app went viral – largely off the back of poor copyright protections, as creators flooded the internet with bodgie-looking videos of iconic superheroes – the app was legitimised by various content deals.
Disney was one of the first big companies to get behind Sora, confirming it would invest US$1 billion, while also licensing its characters to OpenAI, in a move that was heavily criticised by its audience base for its perceived betrayal of Disney creators and fans.
Now, following the closure of Sora, it appears Disney is moving on entirely.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has exited its US$1 billion deal with OpenAI, and it will no longer license its characters to the company.
Disney exits OpenAI deal – quick links
Sora’s shuttering a dealbreaker for Disney
It appears Disney’s decision to exit its deal with OpenAI was a direct result of Sora’s shuttering. In a statement, the company has confirmed it ‘respects’ OpenAI’s decision to exit the field of generative AI video creation, and to shift its priorities.
Notably, Disney also confirmed it will continue to pursue opportunities in the space of AI.
‘We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators,’ a company spokesperson said.
Regardless of the circumstance, Disney’s pullback from OpenAI has been received warmly in online circles, particularly among the company’s fanbase.
When the initial deal was inked, there were immediate concerns about how Disney characters would be used by AI creators, and the limitations or guardrails placed upon GenAI content creation.
Fan resistance to GenAI use
When Disney previously licensed Star Wars‘ Darth Vader to Epic Games for inclusion as an AI-driven character in Fortnite, it resulted in plenty of backlash, as the model could be talked into swearing, and sharing ‘non-canon’ information in the replicated voice of James Earl Jones. Not only that, but the model resulted in an unfair labour practice charge by actor’s union SAG-AFTRA, which took issue with its alleged infringement of union contract terms.
Disney fans are historically very protective of the company’s IP – and in recent years, it seems even more so than Disney itself. Fans of all ages form very personal bonds with the company’s characters, for their personalities and relatability, and how they reassure in their depictions. That can only happen with the efforts of talented storytellers and human creation.
It’s why the notion of AI-generated versions of Disney characters inspired such backlash in the first place. By and large, audiences want relatable, human-created characters and creative work that allows them to feel part of a bigger world. By nature, GenAI can only regurgitate and remix what’s come before – not creating anything new, but delivering a slop of the past with no new, original ideas or creativity of its own.
As Disney exits its OpenAI partnership, even as it plans to continue engaging with AI platforms, there’s a brighter hope for a more human-led future at the company.
Why Sora has been shut down
Amidst this sudden news, perhaps the most intriguing question is why OpenAI has chosen to exit video content development and shut down Sora, despite previously considering it the future of film.
In its statement, the company simply said: ‘We’re saying goodbye to Sora. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing. We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work.’
There’s plenty of room for speculation here, although the truth is likely more complex than any theories.
Since its launch, Sora has been the subject of significant criticism, particularly around its loose IP guardrails, which allowed creators to generate content utilising a variety of famous, copyright-protected characters. While it attempted to strengthen the control of owned IP, the real excitement and enthusiasm for Sora remained around the promise of using and manipulating known characters.
Its version of creativity was, after all, reliant on the content of other, more creative people – and original thought is hard to come by.
It could be for this reason that Sora has been suddenly shut down. There’s plenty of speculation that lawsuits from concerned copyright holders contributed to its demise, and that there could be more to come on this closure. It could also be that the right balance of investment was never found, and that a formal use case or profitability strategy was not possible.
Whatever the case, this OpenAI experiment is now over, and the company will now pursue new avenues for generative AI, beyond video generation.
