OpenAI’s Sora 2 is a new video generator that produces AI-generated deepfake videos. It has raised huge ethical concerns by letting users create digital clones of dead celebrities with no permission required. This increasing capacity raises new ethical concerns related to likeness protections. It further touches on ethical issues related to utilizing images of people who are no longer able to voice their dissent. According to the company’s own reports, more users are resurrecting notable figures with this tech. Yet this trend has ignited a powerful national discussion about the moral responsibilities of creating and developing in an AI-dominated landscape.
Stakeholders from across the world have leveraged the tool to splice together controversial videos using avatars of dead celebrities. These videos usually set them up in situations that misrepresent what they actually think or do. Sora 2 produced this animated short featuring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. as he experiences stuttering and line loss. The video includes the wildly entertaining, historic kitchen choreo of pop legend Michael Jackson. These representations have resulted in swift and violent retaliatory actions from the masses, as well as from relatives and loved ones of those featured.
Ethical Concerns Raised
Sora 2 has a puzzling omission. Purposefully or not, it offers a green light for the use of now-dead celebrities’ images. While OpenAI emphasizes its commitment to ethical guidelines by stating, “We take measures to block depictions of public figures (except those using the cameos feature, of course),” the reality remains that individuals who have passed away cannot opt-in or provide consent for such representations.
Zelda Williams, the daughter of recently-deceased actor Robin Williams, has gone on record condemning the practice. She spoke out after finding her father’s likeness being used in deepfake attack ads. She stressed that these kinds of manipulations pay an emotional price on the loved ones of those pictured. Yet Williams’ concerns underlay a broader sentiment. It is the general consensus of those I speak with that dead people have no control over their post mortem interpretation.
Popularity and Backlash
Regardless of these controversies, the usage of OpenAI’s Sora 2 has gone viral across the internet, and the users of Sora 2 have littered the internet with their creations. As it turned out, one specific clip, highlighting a digitally reimagined Stephen Hawking skateboarding, became a viral sensation. This trend indicates a substantial interest in this type of content. It also points out the potential for abuse in intimate circumstances involving historical aspects or private heritage.
ArsTechnica has written recently about this thrilling development. They noted that Sora 2 has triggered a tsunami of AI-generated videos with a variety of dead celebrities. Each of these videos is marked by watermarks indicating that they were produced on OpenAI’s platform. Though this fact may be true, it does not reduce the ethical implications of their content.
Legal Ramifications
OpenAI has previously been sued for recreating celebrities with AI without consent. Technology is moving so quickly. This change reinvigorates important arguments about the protections that intellectual property and likeness rights afford to the living and the dead. Sora 2’s functionalities begin discussions that raise questions that warrant further examination of current statutes. This deepened investigation will hopefully lead to regulatory changes that will work to address these difficult challenges head on.
