A group of artists reportedly has leaked early access to OpenAI‘s as-yet-unreleased text-to-video AI model Sora, saying that the move is in protest of what the group claims is the company’s use of “unpaid R&D and PR.”
According to a report in The Verge (TechCrunch first reported on the alleged leak), OpenAi teased the new model last February but “hasn’t provided any meaningful updates” since. The group that leaked the early access says it is made up of Sora beta testers who were initially recruited by OpenAI.
In an open letter [read it below] the group of artists wrote, “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….We are not your: free bug testers, PR puppets, training data, validation tokens.”
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The artists claims that OpenAI’s early access program to Sora exploits artists for free labor as well as for ‘art washing,’ which refers to the lending of artistic credibility to a corporate product.
“We are not against the use of AI technology as a tool for the arts (if we were, we probably wouldn’t have been invited to this program),” the letter continues. “What we don’t agree with is how this artist program has been rolled out and how the tool is shaping up ahead of a possible public release. We are sharing this to the world in the hopes that OpenAI becomes more open, more artist friendly and supports the arts beyond PR stunts.”
The artists reportedly published a version of Sora on Hugging Face, a platform focusing on issues surrounding AI. Several people apparently used the version to publish clips on social media before the interface was shut down, according to PCMag.
OpenAI has not yet confirmed the leak but released a statement to The Verge saying, “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 have shaped Sora’s development, helping prioritize new features and safeguards. Participation is voluntary, with no obligation to provide feedback or use the tool. We’ve been excited to offer these artists free access and will continue supporting them through grants, events, and other programs. We believe AI can be a powerful creative tool and are committed to making Sora both useful and safe.”
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