OpenAI’s new text-to-video artificial intelligence model left jaws on the floor recently when the company offered up examples of what it can do.
Sora, as it’s called, generates astonishingly realistic footage from descriptive text inputs, and while a close look can sometimes reveal slight flaws in the imagery, the technology has left many wondering to what extent it could upend the TV and movie industries.
OpenAI isn’t the only one working on AI-powered text-to-video tools, but its Sora clips really were something to behold. With the cutting-edge tool only set to improve, and with the might of Microsoft backing OpenAI’s endeavors, change is in the air.
OpenAI chief Sam Altman certainly hopes so as he heads to meetings with Hollywood bigwigs this week to persuade them to incorporate his new AI video generator into their work, according to a Bloomberg report on Saturday that cited sources with knowledge of the matter.
In fact, it seems these won’t be the first meetings that AI representatives have had with key movie studio figures, as a number of gatherings also reportedly took place last month.
Sora has yet to be released to the public, but OpenAI has “already granted access to a few big-name actors and directors,” according to Bloomberg.
In a statement, OpenAI told the news site: “OpenAI has a deliberate strategy of working in collaboration with industry through a process of iterative deployment — rolling out AI advances in phases — in order to ensure safe implementation and to give people an idea of what’s on the horizon. We look forward to an ongoing dialogue with artists and creatives.”
As Bloomberg points out, AI is a highly sensitive issue in the entertainment industry. A dispute over how it will be deployed was one of the reasons writers and actors recently went on strike. Many fear that the technology will take their jobs or, at the very least, diminish their ability to earn a decent living.
While OpenAI’s text-to-video tool is undoubtedly an exciting piece of technology, Sora and other text-to-video generators are an unnerving prospect for many artists, and with Altman reportedly meeting important studio figures to discuss the technology, many will have growing concerns about what comes next.
