In a surprising development, a group of artists and early testers leaked OpenAI’s unreleased text-to-video tool, Sora, claiming exploitation during its development. The group, operating under the pseudonym “PR-Puppets,” published a version of Sora on HuggingFace on November 26, only for OpenAI to intervene and shut it down hours later.
Allegations of Exploitation
According to the group, OpenAI invited hundreds of artists and testers to participate as beta users, promising opportunities to shape the tool as “creative partners.” However, the group alleges that they were lured into “art washing,” contributing significant unpaid labor in the form of bug testing, feedback, and experimental work, without recognition or compensation.
The artists criticized OpenAI, valued at $157 billion, for excluding contributors from its success while profiting from their work. In an open letter accompanying the leak, they expressed their frustration, stating, “We believe our contributions are being exploited to paint Sora as an artist-friendly tool.”
The Leak and Sora’s Capabilities
The leaked version of Sora, labeled a “turbo” variant, showcased advanced capabilities in generating hyper-realistic videos from text prompts. Users who accessed the tool before its takedown shared video samples on X, highlighting its ability to handle complex features like arms and legs with impressive precision.
Additionally, code within the leaked version hinted at future updates, including greater customization options and support for various video styles.
OpenAI’s Vision for Sora
First announced on February 16, Sora was presented as a groundbreaking text-to-video tool trained on hundreds of millions of hours of video clips. OpenAI aimed to establish a wide range of video styles and improve the overall quality of AI-generated footage, wowing the tech community with its potential applications.
Despite the tool’s promise, this controversy raises ethical concerns regarding how tech companies engage with creative contributors during the development of generative AI technologies.
