December 11, 2024
Screenshot from an AI-generated video produced by Sora; could you tell it’s AI?

Recently, the release of OpenAi’s new tool, Sora, has caused a bit of buzz in the film and animation industry. Developed by the America-based artificial intelligence research organization OpenAI, which had also previously developed ChatGPT, it can generate videos based on descriptive prompts, extend videos forward or backward, and generate videos from still images.

The program has not yet been released to the public, but we saw its function just two weeks ago when Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAi, showed off its abilities by taking requests on X. The videos could go up to 60 seconds long and had themes ranging from hyperrealism to animations. There were different prompts, such as “A bicycle race on the ocean with different animals as athletes riding the bicycles with drone camera view,” that allowed us to see Sora’s capabilities.

Some speculate that the release of this new AI could change the entertainment industry and put animators or industry professionals out of business. NBC News covers this story and shares the thoughts of those in the industry, such as Tyler Perry, an American actor and filmmaker, who put an $800 million expansion on hold due to AI advancements, noting Sora by name. However, Sora still has many limitations, and although I don’t think it’ll be taking jobs anytime soon, with the quick advancements in ChatGPT and other AI tools, the idea of technology replacing people isn’t feasible anymore.