OpenAI’s text-to-video AI model Sora has sparked controversy. A group of artists who participated in the early testing of Sora were dissatisfied with the use of OpenAI and leaked early access to the model, and published an open letter on the Hugging Face platform to protest. They accused OpenAI of using artists as free R&D and public relations tools, using their creativity to perform unpaid labor, and expressed dissatisfaction with OpenAI's strict content review system. The incident sparked discussions about artists’ rights in the development of AI models.
Since OpenAI first previewed its text-to-video AI model Sora in February this year, it has not provided any specific updates. Recently, a group of test artists participating in OpenAI's new text-to-video AI model Sora leaked early access to the model due to dissatisfaction with the company.
They released a project related to Sora API through the AI development platform Hugging Face, using early access authentication tokens to create a front-end interface that allows users to generate videos. Through this front-end, any user can enter a short text description and generate a video of up to 10 seconds in resolution up to 1080p.
Subsequently, many users shared examples of the generated videos on social media, most of which had OpenAI’s visual watermark. However, after being open for about an hour, the front-end interface stopped working. It is speculated that OpenAI and Hugging Face may have revoked access rights.
Case generated by netizens: Prompt word "teenage male playing basketball on his driveway in Florida. Sunny afternoon"
Netizen generated case: "0": "A close-up of a fluffy kitten with striking blue eyes sitting on a soft, cream-colored pillow. The kitten tilts its head slightly to one side, its ears perked up attentively. The background is a warm, softly-lit room with hints
The artists published their letter of protest on Hugging Face, a public AI model platform, claiming that they were used by the company during the testing process and became "unpaid R&D and public relations tools."
In the open letter, the artists said: "Dear Enterprise AI Lords, When we were given access to Sora, we were promised to be early testers and creative partners. However, we believe we were simply lured into an 'art' "The process of whitewashing and promoting Sora." They emphasized that the artist is not the company's "free bug tester, promotional tool, training data or verification token."
These artists are not opposed to using AI technology as a tool for artistic creation, but they are dissatisfied with OpenAI's early access program, which they believe exploits artists' creativity for unpaid labor.
They criticized OpenAI for providing them with "artistic credit" in projects without reciprocating the work. In particular, they objected to OpenAI's moderation requirements for Sora's content, saying that each generated content needed to be approved by the OpenAI team before it could be shared.
When contacted by the media, OpenAI did not confirm the authenticity of the Sora leak, but emphasized that artists participating in the "research preview" were voluntary and were not required to provide feedback or use the tool. An OpenAI spokesperson said: "Sora is still in the research phase, and we are working hard to balance creativity with safety measures. The participation of hundreds of artists helps us prioritize new features and safeguards." In addition, OpenAI promises to continue to support the company through grants, events and Support participating artists in other ways.
Earlier, Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer of OpenAI, said that Sora is expected to be released before the end of the year, but will not release anything that they are not confident in the impact of the model.
In a recent Reddit Q&A, chief product officer Kevin Weil mentioned that the reason Sora hasn't been released yet is the need to expand its capabilities and ensure security and prevent imposter issues.
Highlight:
Artists protested OpenAI's free use of them by leaking the Sora model.
They criticized OpenAI's early testing program, saying the company was using their creativity for publicity.
OpenAI responded that participation in the test was voluntary and pledged to continue supporting artists.
This incident highlighted the challenges of ethics and rights in the development of AI technology, and also triggered people's reflection on the cooperation model between AI companies and artists. How to balance technological progress and the interests of artists will become an issue that needs to be seriously considered in the future development of AI. Although OpenAI's response stated that it will continue to support artists, its specific measures and effects remain to be seen.