OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has announced its venture into AI-generated video with the introduction of Sora, a text-to-video generator. This tool utilizes generative artificial intelligence to instantly create short videos based on written commands. While there have been previous demonstrations of this technology, industry analysts have praised the high quality of Sora's videos, marking a significant leap for OpenAI and the future of text-to-video generation.

Sora is capable of creating videos up to 60 seconds long and can generate video from existing still images. It falls under the branch of generative AI, which focuses on creating something new. Other examples of generative AI include chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, as well as image-generators like DALL-E and Midjourney. While Sora is not yet available for public use, OpenAI has shared several examples of Sora-generated videos to showcase its capabilities.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also reached out to social media users to gather prompt ideas for Sora-generated videos. The company has responded with realistically-detailed videos, including prompts such as "two golden retrievers podcasting on top of a mountain" and "a bicycle race on the ocean with different animals as athletes riding the bicycles with a drone camera view." While Sora-generated videos can depict complex scenes with incredible detail, OpenAI acknowledges that there are still some weaknesses, particularly in spatial and cause-and-effect elements.

Although Sora is not the first AI-generated video tool, industry analysts have emphasized the apparent quality and impressive length of its videos. Fred Havemeyer, head of U.S. AI and software research at Macquarie, believes that Sora's launch represents a significant step forward for the industry. He praises the videos for looking more normal and respecting physics and the real world, reducing the "uncanny valley" effect seen in other AI-generated videos.

While AI-generated video technology has made tremendous progress over the past year, concerns about its ethical and societal implications persist. Havemeyer highlights the risks associated with the potentially-fraught 2024 election cycle, including fraud, propaganda, and misinformation. The negative externalities of generative AI will be a critical topic for debate, and every business and individual will need to address these issues.

Governments around the world are still catching up to regulate AI and its risks, leaving tech companies to govern themselves. OpenAI has taken important safety steps before making Sora widely available, including working with domain experts to adversarially test the model and developing tools to detect misleading content. OpenAI's vice president of global affairs, Anna Makanju, emphasized the company's cautious approach to releasing Sora during the Munich Security Conference, where OpenAI and other technology companies pledged to combat AI-generated election deepfakes.

However, OpenAI has faced lawsuits from authors and The New York Times over its use of copyrighted works of writing to train ChatGPT. The limited information disclosed about Sora's development raises questions about the imagery and video sources used, as well as potential copyright concerns.

Overall, the introduction of Sora represents a significant advancement in AI-generated video technology, but it also raises important ethical and societal considerations. OpenAI's cautious approach and collaboration with experts demonstrate their commitment to addressing these concerns and ensuring responsible use of AI-generated videos.