Should OpenAI’s video creator Sora stir panic among YouTube creators?
When famed YouTube creator and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee expressed “concern” about how OpenAI’s preview of its text to video generator Sora (which is not even publicly available), I took notice.
Then, when filmmaker Tyler Perry said he shelved his planned $800 million studio expansion after watching the short videos generated by Sora, I felt panic.
You should, too.
Generative AI is developing so rapidly over the past year, in both its capabilities and its quality. And they will only continue to increase on both fronts–no matter what happens in the 16 copyright lawsuits against AI companies. The future of creative production and content creation will be with generative AI, just as digital creation has come to predominate with the advent of computers, smartphones, and the Internet.
@openaiThis video was generated by our text-to-video model, Sora, without modification. Prompt: “an f1 driver races through the streets of san francisco during the day, the driver's pov is captured from a helmet cam. the golden gate bridge and the cityscape can be seen in the distance, while the blue sky and the sun illuminate the scene. the driver maneuvers the car skillfully, overtaking a car on a curve.” What would you like to see us make with Sora next? *Sora is not yet available to the public. We’re sharing our research progress early to learn from feedback and give the public a sense of what AI capabilities are on the horizon. #madewithSora #Sora #openaiTiktok failed to load.
Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserIndeed, we are now entering the Gen AI era, in which a high percentage of content will soon be created in part with the assistance of generative AI, which is being integrated right into all of the major software programs of Microsoft, Google, Adobe, Figma, Canva, and others for creative production, along with the apps and cameras for smartphones.
People in many sectors are asking how AI will affect their jobs? Creatives in many sectors are asking whether they should start using AI to stay competitive?
I think we need to answer some hard questions about our copyright system–and how it can adapt to the ongoing fundamental changes to creative production being wrought by AI.
One change we need to make is reversing the restrictive and antiquated approach of the U.S. Copyright Office in its imposition of the so-called “traditional elements of authorship“–a term that no federal court has ever used in a decision–to deny copyrights to AI-generated works. I have explained (here and here) why I think the Copyright Office’s position is wrong as a matter of constitutional law. The Framers never intended to limit authors to the tools of the “horse and buggy” era.
But, even if the courts get this question right, we will still face many other questions that go beyond the copyright system, such as potential job displacement in various industries, including in Hollywood and the Creator Economy. I doubt Tyler Perry and Marques Brownlee should be worried about their own job security. But perhaps the people they employ should if generative AI becomes so good and efficient at doing what humans did before.