Protesting Artists Group Leaks Early Access To OpenAI’s Sora Model

A group of artists has leaked early access to OpenAI’s unreleased text-to-video AI model, known as Sora. The artists claim this action is a protest against what they describe as the company’s exploitative practices involving unpaid research and development, as well as public relations.

The leak was first reported by TechCrunch and later covered by The Verge. OpenAI originally announced Sora back in February but has not provided significant updates since then. The group that leaked the model consists of beta testers who were initially invited by OpenAI to participate in its development.

In an open letter, the artists expressed their concerns about their role in the testing process. They stated, "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."

Concerns of Exploitation

The artists allege that OpenAI's early access program exploits their efforts for free labor, contributing to what they refer to as 'art washing.' This term denotes the tactic of using artistic credibility to support corporate products.

In their letter, they clarified, "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). 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 with the world in hopes that OpenAI becomes more open, more artist-friendly, and supports the arts beyond public relations stunts."

Details of the Leak

The artists published a version of Sora on Hugging Face, an online platform that addresses issues related to artificial intelligence. Following this, many users reportedly utilized the version to share clips on social media before the interface was taken down.

OpenAI has yet to confirm the leak, but they have issued a statement 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."

protest, technology, AI