OpenAI Tightens Sora 2 Rules Amid Celebrity Likeness Backlash
OpenAI has updated it’s policy for the video generation tool Sora 2,prohibiting the use of real people’s likenesses and copyrighted characters without explicit consent,following significant criticism from celebrities,creators,and rights holders. The move comes as the platform, publicly released in december 2024, gains notoriety for its ability to create remarkably realistic videos from text or image prompts.
The platform quickly captured public attention with viral clips showcasing everything from Mickey Mouse skateboarding to Jake Paul portraying Donald Trump. However, the ease with which Sora 2 could replicate individuals sparked immediate concerns about misuse and potential harm.
Bryan Cranston,the acclaimed actor,publicly voiced his apprehension. “I was deeply concerned not just for myself, but for all performers whose work and identity can be misused in this way,” Cranston stated. “I am grateful to OpenAI for its policy and for improving its guardrails.”
The rise of AI-generated videos is rapidly changing the digital landscape,raising concerns about the authenticity of online content. From seemingly impossible feats like rabbits jumping on trampolines to fabricated scenes of babies walking at birth, the line between reality and fabrication is becoming increasingly blurred.
Vasant Dhar, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and author of the forthcoming book Thinking With Machines: The Brave New World of AI, questioned the justification for utilizing individuals’ likenesses in AI content. “It’s not obvious to me that that’s fair use,” Dhar told Newsweek. “There’s too much murkiness around this-it depends on how it’ll be used. It’s hard to have a policy that says ‘It can actually work to humanity’s benefits so let’s leave it open,’ even though we know that it has all kinds of potential harms associated with it.”
The “Dead Celebrity Loophole” Remains
Despite the new safeguards, a significant loophole persists: the use of deceased figures. Users continue to generate content featuring individuals like Robin Williams, Michael Jackson, and elvis Presley. While the family of Martin Luther King Jr. successfully secured a block on his likeness on October 17, other estates have not achieved the same outcome.
Zelda Williams,the daughter of Robin Williams,recently implored users to cease sharing AI-generated videos of her father. “It’s well and good if you have an estate and you have the means and you have people who care about your memory and your legacy to say I’m opting out of this. That’s better than unbridled use and not even allowing people to opt out. But it’s still fairly meager for people who don’t have estates, who can’t defend themselves,” Dhar explained.
Examples of this trend include AI-generated footage depicting Tupac Shakur alongside Marilyn Monroe and the late Queen Elizabeth II engaging in shoplifting. This “dead celebrity loophole” highlights a complex legal issue, as posthumous likeness rights vary considerably across the globe, often leaving families with limited legal recourse.
OpenAI acknowledged the concerns in a statement released on Friday, asserting: “While there are strong free speech interests in depicting ancient figures, OpenAI believes public figures and their families shoudl 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.”
However, Dhar believes that allowing estate owners to opt out is insufficient. “It’s really still fairly meager for people who don’t have estates, who don’t have this ability to defend themselves, whose future projections might be changed by the AI, in ways that are not complimentary,” he said. “They could take someone who had been a saint and turn them into a devil. Is that fair? I think that’s a really slippery slope.”
The evolving landscape of AI-generated content demands ongoing scrutiny and adaptation of legal and ethical frameworks to protect individuals and their legacies in the digital age.
