OpenAI has announced the closure of its social media platform Sora, which gained widespread popularity last year for showcasing short videos created by artificial intelligence. The decision to shut down Sora was shared in a brief message on social media, with OpenAI expressing appreciation for the content created by users and promising more information on preserving their work.
Initially launched in September by the company behind ChatGPT, Sora aimed to compete with popular short-form video platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook. However, concerns were raised by various groups about the potential misuse of AI technology to create deepfake videos and nonconsensual content without proper oversight.
OpenAI faced backlash for allowing the creation of AI-generated videos featuring public figures like Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mister Rogers, prompting action following objections from their estates and a actors’ union. Disney, which collaborated with OpenAI to incorporate its characters into Sora, expressed support for OpenAI’s decision to discontinue the video creation aspect of the platform and emphasized the importance of respecting intellectual property rights and creator rights in adopting new technologies.