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OpenAI's new text-to-video AI, Sora, is off to a flying start: the company reported over a million downloads in less than five days, outperforming even ChatGPT launch pace. The app, which crafts realistic ten-second videos from simple text prompts, has already reached the top spot on the Apple App Store in the US, a feat achieved despite its limited release to only invited users in North America. The figures were announced in an X post from Sora boss Bill Peebles.
But its handling of copyright material - and the images of dead public figures - has attracted significant criticism online despite the growth.
The Sora app - which makes it easy for users to post videos they have created to social media - has resulted in a deluge of videos on social feeds. Some have included depictions of deceased celebrities such as musicians Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur.
Three days ago, Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Williams, asked people to stop sending her AI-generated videos of her father, the celebrated US actor and comic who died in 2014. A plea that press reports have linked to the popularity of Sora.
An OpenAI spokesperson told US news site Axios in an email there were "strong free speech interests" in allowing the depiction of historical figures. But the spokesperson said, for public figures who were "recently deceased", authorized persons could request their likenesses aren't used - though it did not specify what counted as "recent".
Videos also frequently feature depictions of characters from films, TV and games.
In one Sora deepfake of Sam Altman, the OpenAI boss is shown with several Pokémon characters saying "I hope Nintendo doesn't sue us", CNBC reported.
OpenAI says it is adapting its approach to these issues. On 4 October, Mr Altman blogged that the firm had been "learning quickly from how people are using Sora and taking feedback from users, rights holders, and other interested groups".
He said the firm would "give rights holders more granular control over generation of characters,"and there were plans for some form of revenue-sharing in the future.
