OpenAI pauses Sora video generations of Martin Luther King Jr.

OpenAI announced Thursday that it has stopped allowing users to generate videos that resemble the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. using its AI video model, Sora. The company says it is adding this security at the request of Dr.’s estate. King, after some Sora users created “disrespectful images” of his likeness.

“While there are strong free speech interests in the depiction of historical figures, OpenAI believes that public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used,” OpenAI said in a statement message on X from his official editorial account. “Authorized representatives or estate owners may request that their likeness not be used in Sora cameos.”

The restriction comes just a few weeks after OpenAI launched its social video platform Sora, which allows users to create realistic AI-generated videos resembling historical figures, their friends and users who choose to have their likeness recreated on the platform. The launch has sparked intense public debate about the dangers of AI-generated videos, and how platforms should implement guardrails around the technology.

Dr. Bernice King, the daughter of Dr. king, posted on Instagram last week she asked people to stop sending AI videos that looked like her father. She joined Robin Williams’ daughter, who also asked Sora users to stop generating AI videos of her father.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Sora users had created AI-generated videos of Dr. King makes monkey noises and wrestling with another civil rights icon, Malcolm

The licensor of the estate of Dr. King did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

In addition to the way Sora represents people, the launch has also raised a slew of questions about how social media platforms should handle AI videos of copyrighted works. The Sora app is also full of videos of cartoons like SpongeBob, South Park and Pokémon.

OpenAI has added other restrictions to Sora in weeks since launch. Earlier in October, the company said it planned to give copyright holders more granular control over the types of AI videos that can be generated using their likeness. That may have been a response to Hollywood’s initial reaction to Sora wasn’t great.

With OpenAI adding restrictions to Sora, the company appears to be taking a more hands-off approach to moderating content in ChatGPT. OpenAI announced this week that adult users would be able to have “erotic” chats with ChatGPT in the coming months.

With Sora, it appears that OpenAI is grappling with the concerns associated with generating AI videos. Some OpenAI researchers publicly grappled with questions about the company’s first AI-powered social media platform in the days after its launch, and how such a product fits into the nonprofit’s mission. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company felt “excitement‘ about Sora on launch day.

Nick Turley, the head of ChatGPT, told me earlier this month that the best way to teach the world about a new technology is to spread it around the world. He said this is what the company learned with ChatGPT, and it’s what OpenAI is also discovering at Sora. It looks like the company is also learning something about the distribution of this technology.