OpenAI's Sora 2 enables AI videos of deceased celebrities
OpenAI's newly launched Sora 2 video generator blocks depictions of living public figures but allows creations featuring deceased ones, leading to widespread social media examples. This loophole has upset families, including Zelda Williams, who pleaded for an end to AI videos of her late father Robin Williams. The company defends the policy, citing consent issues for the dead.
OpenAI introduced Sora 2 last week, incorporating safeguards to block depictions of public figures by default. However, the tool permits videos of 'historical figures,' creating a significant exception for deceased celebrities. Social media is flooded with such content, including Tupac Shakur chatting with Malcolm X, Bruce Lee spinning records in a 'dragon energy' DJ set, Michael Jackson performing kitchen standup, Stephen Hawking's wheelchair failing on a skateboard ramp, Mister Rogers appearing on Jackass, Kurt Cobain stealing KFC chicken fingers, and Martin Luther King Jr. stuttering through a speech.
Each generated video carries a moving Sora watermark to reduce deception risks. Yet, the practice disturbs relatives and fans. On Monday, Zelda Williams posted a now-deleted Instagram story: "Please stop sending me AI videos of dad... Stop believing I wanna see it or that I'll understand, I don't and I won't... It's dumb, it's a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it's NOT what he'd want."
OpenAI emphasizes user control for living individuals via an opt-in 'cameos' feature, where people scan their faces for consented use, revocable at any time. Deceased figures cannot consent, and an OpenAI spokesperson told PCMag: "We don’t have a comment to add, but we do allow the generation of historical figures."
Legal precedents highlight tensions. U.S. right-of-publicity laws vary by state; California's 1985 statute prohibits unauthorized post-mortem commercial use, but a 2001 Supreme Court ruling permits 'transformative' expressions under the First Amendment. New York's 2022 law bans realistic digital replicas likely to deceive without authorization, though disclaimers can mitigate this.
The 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike addressed AI replicas, granting actors control in union projects. Williams criticized such recreations then as "a horrendous Frankensteinian monster." OpenAI recently adjusted Sora for copyrighted characters, requiring opt-in from holders who share revenue, with CEO Sam Altman promising rapid changes based on feedback.
Past cases include a lawsuit against podcasters for an AI George Carlin routine and threats against OpenAI for mimicking Scarlett Johansson's voice in ChatGPT-4o.