A group of artists leaked OpenAI's new generative AI video tool to the public, citing concerns over exploitation and inadequate recognition for their unpaid contributions during the tool's development.
On Tuesday, November 21, artists leaked OpenAI's Sora, an experimental text-to-video generator.
The tool was made available in early access to 300 artists and filmmakers for feedback. The program, valued for its potential to create high-quality videos from text prompts, also drew criticism from testers who accused OpenAI of exploiting their unpaid labor.
Artists then decided to protest the leak after feeling undervalued and excluded from meaningful compensation.
The leak, shared on the AI development platform Hugging Face, allowed users to briefly access Sora and generate short video clips, Variety reported.
This release was accompanied by a manifesto on Tuesday condemning the platform's practices as exploitative, calling their roles as "PR puppets."
"We received access to Sora with the promise to be early testers, red teamers and creative partners. However, we believe instead we are being lured into 'art washing' to tell the world that Sora is a useful tool for artists," said the open letter. "ARTISTS ARE NOT YOUR UNPAID R&D ... we are not your: free bug testers, PR puppets, training data, validation tokens."
In response, OpenAI cut off access to Sora while denying allegations of coercion or unfair practices.
"Sora is still in research preview, and we're working to balance creativity with robust safety measures for broader use. Hundreds of artists in our alpha [testing program] have shaped Sora's development, helping prioritize new features and safeguards. Participation is voluntary, with no obligation to provide feedback or use the tool." Niko Felix, OpenAI rep, told Variety.
The open letter shared was signed by 19 artists, which OpenAI claims that not all had access to Sora and were not part of the program.
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