HomeAUDisney Withdraws from $1 Billion Agreement Amid OpenAI's Closure of Sora Program

Disney Withdraws from $1 Billion Agreement Amid OpenAI’s Closure of Sora Program

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OpenAI is pulling the plug on the viral AI video generator Sora, just three months after agreeing to a $1 billion agreement with Disney.
In a short message posted to X, OpenAI said it is “saying goodbye to the Sora app” and that it will share more information soon, including details on how people who used the app can preserve the videos they have already created.

“The work you accomplished with Sora was significant, and we understand this news is disappointing,” stated the post.

The OpenAI logo appears on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen with random binary data, March 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
OpenAI has grown massively since being founded in late 2015. (AP)
Sora was released in September last year and rapidly grew in popularity on social media, being used to create artificially generated lifelike videos that often left people questioning whether the content was real.

The resulting confusion has prompted experts and advocacy organizations to voice concerns about the potential dangers the app could unleash with just a simple prompt.

Many have cautioned that this could result in the widespread creation of nonconsensual images and convincing deepfakes, lost in a deluge of “AI slop.”

After outcry from family estates and an actors’ union, OpenAI was forced to crack down on AI creations of public figures, including Michael Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr., doing outlandish things.

Last year, Disney entered into a $1 billion agreement spanning three years with OpenAI. The goal was to introduce over 200 of its characters to Sora, enabling users to craft short, user-generated social videos.

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The deal would have seen more than 200 Disney characters brought to the AI video generator app. (Supplied/Disney)

The entertainment company released a statement expressing that it respects “OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to refocus its priorities.”

“We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it,” Disney said in a statement.

“We will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators.”

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