OpenAI has halted the generation of videos featuring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on its Sora platform following a request from his estate. The move comes after the AI video generator, which creates realistic footage from text prompts, sparked controversy for depicting long-deceased public figures, including King, Michael Jackson, and Robin Williams.
Official Statement on Dr. King’s Likeness
OpenAI issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) detailing its collaboration with The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. (King, Inc.). The company acknowledged that some users had generated “disrespectful depictions of Dr. King’s image.”
In response to the estate’s concerns, the company has “paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures.”
OpenAI emphasized its belief that “public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used,” even while acknowledging “strong free speech interests” in depicting historical figures. The company stated that authorized representatives or estate owners can formally request that a figure’s likeness not be used in Sora generations.
The statement concluded with a thank you to Dr. Bernice A. King (on behalf of King, Inc.) and John Hope Bryant and the AI Ethics Council for facilitating the discussion.
Sora 2 Updates Rolled Out
In separate news, OpenAI has rolled out updates to its Sora 2 AI video generation tool, which was first announced in September.
OpenAI shared two key updates:
- Storyboards are now accessible to Pro users directly through the composer on the Sora web platform.
- The maximum video length has been increased:
- All users can now generate videos up to 15 seconds on both the app and web.
- Pro users can generate videos up to 25 seconds on the web.