Artists Rebel Against AI Authorities by Launching Leak of OpenAI's Video Creator, Sora
In a surprising turn of events, a group of artists who are early adopters of AI in their work have expressed their dissatisfaction with OpenAI's Sora AI early access program. On Tuesday, these artists temporarily shared the Sora AI model, an unreleased video-generating tool by OpenAI, on AI model-hosting platform Hugging Face.
The artists, who number 16, penned an open letter titled 'Dear Corporate AI Overlords' to voice their concerns. They felt that OpenAI was using them for 'art washing,' an exploitative business model, rather than providing a genuine opportunity to freely experiment and critique the tool.
According to the artists, any videos created using the Sora AI tool had to be approved by OpenAI before being shared. This, they claimed, was a public relations ploy rather than an opportunity to freely experiment and critique the tool. The artists also alleged that they were offered early access to Sora for testing and creative partnership, but felt they were being used for unpaid labor.
In response, OpenAI spokesperson Taya Christianson stated that participation in the Sora program is voluntary and there is no obligation to provide feedback or use the tool. She added that OpenAI is working to balance creativity with robust safety measures for broader use of Sora. OpenAI has offered free access to the artists and will continue supporting them through grants, events, and other programs.
However, the Sora early access program for artists has been temporarily shut down by OpenAI. The tool posted to Hugging Face no longer works. It is worth noting that a note added to the letter says that Sora is still in research preview.
The artists are encouraging AI companies to 'listen to and provide a path to true artist expression, with fair compensation to the artists.' They are urging their peers to use open-source video generation tools and are hopeful that this incident will lead to a more equitable partnership between artists and AI companies in the future.
This article was updated to include a statement from OpenAI. The artists' open letter is available for reading online.
