OpenAI, which gained widespread attention last year due to the popularity of ChatGPT, initially announced Sora in February 2024, it has now been rolled out to users in the U.S. and other countries during the week commencing Monday 9th December 2024.
The AI video-generation model operates similarly to OpenAI image-generation tool, DALL-E: the user inputs a desired scene, and Sora produces a high-definition video clip.
Sora can also create video clips inspired by still images and can extend existing or fill in missing frames. The Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence which surged into the mainstream last year because of ChatGPT’s viral success.
OpenAI said users don’t need to pay extra for the tool, which will be included in existing ChatGPT accounts such as Plus and Pro. Employees on the livestream and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman demonstrated features like ‘Blend’ (joining two scenes together at the user’s direction), as well as the option to make an AI-generated video endlessly repeat.
Until now, Sora has mainly been available to a small group of safety testers, or ‘red-teamers’, who test the model for vulnerabilities in areas such as misinformation and bias.
It’s all part of a serious growth plan for OpenAI, as the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence startup battles Amazon-backed Anthropic, Elon Musk’s xAI, Google’s Gemini, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon for the biggest slice of the generative AI market, which is predicted to top $1 trillion in revenue within a decade.
Earlier this month, OpenAI appointed its first chief marketing officer, signalling intentions to increase marketing expenditures to expand its user base. Additionally, in October 2024, OpenAI introduced a search feature within ChatGPT, enhancing its ability to compete with search engines such Google and Microsoft’s Bing potentially attracting users who would otherwise visit those platforms for web searches.
With Sora, the creator of ChatGPT to compete with video-generation AI tools from companies such as Meta and Google, which announced Lumiere in January. Similar AI is offered by other startups, including Stability AI’s Stable Video Diffusion. Additionally, Amazon has launched Create with Alexa, a model that focuses on generating prompt-based short, animated content for children.
Video may represent the next frontier generative AI, following the integration of chat and generators into both consumer business sectors. Although the creative potential may exhilarate certain AI enthusiasts these new technologies also pose significant concerns, particularly as major political elections take place worldwide.
According to data from Clarity, a machine learning business, the number of AI-generated deepfakes has surged by 900% year over year.
The new AI frontier is both exciting and concerning at the same time.