OpenAI has paused the ability to generate depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. in its text-to-video app Sora 2 after “disrespectful” videos began circulating that saw the civil rights leader spouting racist language, the company announced on Friday in a joint statement with the King estate.
The move came only after Dr. King’s estate requested action be taken to stop the videos.
“The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. (King, Inc.) and OpenAI have worked together to address how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness is represented in Sora generations,” the statement reads. “Some users generated disrespectful depictions of Dr. King’s image. So at King, Inc.’s request, OpenAI has paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures.”
Sora 2 users were making videos that saw Dr. King engage in racist and vulgar language.
OpenAI’s statement continued: “While there are strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures, OpenAI believes public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used. Authorized representatives or estate owners can request that their likeness not be used in Sora cameos.”
This is the latest headache brought on by Sora 2, which allows users to generate videos based on text. But in contrast to the first iteration of Sora, OpenAI launched this new app without strict IP guardrails, thus allowing everyone from SpongeBob Squarepants to Michael Jackson to be at users’ disposal. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a flood of inappropriate videos began to circulate.
As TheWrap previously reported, major studios and estates are taking action. Warner Bros. Discovery has already flagged to OpenAI its IP being used despite copyright guardrails, noting “Rick & Morty” characters are on the platform, according to a person familiar with the company. Disney sent a letter to the company telling it to exclude all Disney IP from Sora.
Earlier this month, the Motion Picture Association called on OpenAI to take “immediate and decisive action” in addressing copyright infringements stemming from the new AI video service.
