OpenAI’s Sora Video Generator is Leaked Online by Angry Artists

A group of peeved artists protesting against “corporate AI overlords” have apparently leaked OpenAI’s video generator Sora.

The leak appears to have come from early Beta testers who are annoyed by what they call “unpaid R&D and PR.”

Sora was announced back in February but since then there’s been no word on its release date. However, a slew of AI videos generated by Sora appeared online yesterday.

TechCrunch spotted a project on the AI developer platform Hugging Face which allowed users to generate videos from Sora. Also on the Hugging Face page is an open letter to OpenAI.

“Dear corporate AI overlords
We received access to Sora with the promise to be early testers, red teamers and creative partners. However, we believe instead we are being lured into ‘art washing’ to tell the world that Sora is a useful tool for artists.
ARTISTS ARE NOT YOUR UNPAID R&D
☠️ we are not your: free bug testers, PR puppets, training data, validation tokens ☠️”

The letter goes on to say, “We are not against the use of AI technology as a tool for the arts (if we were, we probably wouldn’t have been invited to this program). What we don’t agree with is how this artist program has been rolled out and how the tool is shaping up ahead of a possible public release. We are sharing this to the world in the hopes that OpenAI becomes more open, more artist friendly and supports the arts beyond PR stunts.”

Essentially, the artists’ gripes come down to being, as they see it, unpaid testers and workers for a company that has raised billions of dollars and has a $150 billion valuation. They also object to OpenAI’s demand that each output from Sora must be approved before sharing.

“This early access program appears to be less about creative expression and critique, and more about PR and advertisement,” the letter adds.

In a statement to The Verge, OpenAI refused to confirm whether the leak and genuine or not but says its “research preview” program is “voluntary, with no obligation to provide feedback or use the tool.”

“Sora is still in research preview, and we’re working to balance creativity with robust safety measures for broader use,” OpenAI spokesperson Niko Felix tells The Verge.

“Hundreds of artists in our alpha have shaped Sora’s development, helping prioritize new features and safeguards. Participation is voluntary, with no obligation to provide feedback or use the tool. We’ve been excited to offer these artists free access and will continue supporting them through grants, events, and other programs. We believe AI can be a powerful creative tool and are committed to making Sora both useful and safe.”