A group of artists who were testing OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video tool leaked access to it late Tuesday, claiming the artificial intelligence company was engaged in “artist washing” and forcing its testers to only share positive feedback.
OpenAI, after the leak was available for about three hours, shut down access to Sora on Wednesday morning.
The group behind the leak posted its reasoning in a letter titled “Dear Corporate AI Overlords.” The leakers said they were not anti-AI in their letter, but were protesting the tight control OpenAI had over the operation and the messaging related to it.
“This early access program appears to be less about creative expression and critique, and more about PR and advertisement,” the group said.
There were about 300 Sora beta testers, according to the letter. The leakers also complained about not getting paid for their work; OpenAI, after getting an additional $500 million in funding from Softbank in September, was valued at $150 billion. CEO Sam Altman’s slice of the company, following the raise, is now worth about $10.5 billion.
“Hundreds of artists provide unpaid labor through bug testing, feedback and experimental work for the program for a $150B valued company,” the letter said. “While hundreds contribute for free, a select few will be chosen through a competition to have their Sora-created films screened — offering minimal compensation which pales in comparison to the substantial PR and marketing value OpenAI receives.”
OpenAI shut down access to Sora a few hours after the leakers made it public. Company spokesperson Niko Felix to the Washington Post that the artists had “shaped” the tool and given feedback on new features and “safeguards,” but were not forced to participate.
“Participation is voluntary, with no obligation to provide feedback or use the tool,” Felix said.
Before access to Sora was turned off, some people on X were able to use the text-to-video tool to make videos. Some users shared their Sora clips on X, including one user who created a clip of a drug-fueled techno club:
